Somalia-bound relief plane crashes in Kenya, 3 escape

Three crew members survived narrowly Saturday in a plane crash which occurred near a Kenyan police training barrack in the outskirts of Nairobi.

The Red Cross charter cargo plane, a 5YSRK plane, owned by a Kenyan aviation firm, the Sky Relief Services, was ferrying relief supplies to Somalia's Baidoa.

Kenyan airport personnel, who responded to the distress call from the pilot, rescued the three crewmen. The Kenyan Civil Aviation Authority, tasked with the regulation of the airspace, has launched investigations into the crash.

"The pilot said it was engine trouble, but investigations were still continuing," a Kenyan civil aviation source said. The crash occurred in the early morning Saturday, as light rains and bad weather was reported across Nairobi.

"Swift action by the Kenya Airports Authority fire and rescue services saved the three crew members from near death," said Dominic Ngigi, the Kenya Airports Authority spokesman after the accident.

Somalia has seen an escalation of conflict over the past week with Islamic militia fighting Ethiopian and pro-Somali interim government troops, triggering world aid agencies' concern about the mishap of the civilians already worsened by severe floods this year. who have seen . .

Source: Xinhua