Plane crash claims VIPs

2006-04-10 12:55

Nairobi - A Kenyan military plane crashed on Monday in northern Kenya, leaving 14 people dead, a local official at the scene said. Among the passengers were four members of parliament and a provincial commissioner.

The plane crashed into a hill near the town of Marsabit, 450km northeast of Nairobi, while carrying the leaders to a meeting intended to ease tensions in the area, Marsabit District Commissioner Mutua Iringu told the Kenya Television Network during a live interview.

Only four of the 18 people on board were pulled out of the burning wreckage alive, he said.

"The fire was very intense and there is no way anyone else could have survived," he said.

A senior civil servant saw the provincial commissioner, Patrick Osare, with a leg injury at Marsabit District Hospital and added that one of the pilots lost both his legs in the crash. He asked not to be named because he was not authorised to speak to the media.

The official said he did not have any immediate information about the fate of the lawmakers.

The Ministry of Defence issued a statement reporting that 17 people were on the Chinese-built Y-12 plane when it crashed, "including government officials, leaders and crew," but did not report any casualties.

"The government has dispatched a search and rescue team to support rescue operations which are in progress," the statement said.

A nurse, who did not give her name, confirmed to The Associated Press that four patients had arrived at the district hospital.

David Kimaiyo, the director of police operations, said police were flying from Nairobi to investigate a plane crash, but that he had no details.

- AP