11 killed in Kenya plane crash while en route to Maasai Mara National Reserve

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NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — A plane crash killed 11 people, mostly foreign tourists, in Kenya’s coastal region of Kwale early Tuesday while en route to Maasai Mara National Reserve.

The airline, Mombasa Air Safari, said in a statement eight Hungarian and two German passengers were onboard, and that the Kenyan pilot was also killed. The plane crashed in a hilly and forested area about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from Diani airstrip, authorities said.

The airline did not confirm what time the aircraft departed Diani airstrip, saying the pilot failed to communicate upon departure and the airport control tower tried to reach him for 30 minutes before the plane was located.

Investigating agencies were looking into the cause of the crash that happened at 05:30 a.m. local time, Kwale County Commissioner Stephen Orinde told The Associated Press. There was heavy rain in coastal Kenya at the time.

The aircraft burst into flames, leaving a charred wreckage at the scene, officials said. Witnesses told the AP that they heard a loud bang, and upon arriving at the scene, they found unrecognizable human remains.

The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority had earlier said that 12 people were onboard the Cessna Caravan-type aircraft.

The Maasai Mara National Reserve, located west of the coastline and is a two-hour direct flight from Diani, a popular coastal town known for its sandy beaches. The reserve attracts a large number of tourists as it features the annual wildebeest migration from the Serengeti in Tanzania.

The Kenyan coastline’s white sand beaches along the Indian Ocean attract tourists from all over the world.

According to the most recent safety oversight audit for Kenya posted on the International Civil Aviation Organization site, from 2018, the country fell below the global average in accident investigation.