Helicopter crash kills 10 soldiers in Kenya

Ten Kenya Air Force personnel have died while 13 others sustained injuries after the military aircraft they were in a crash landed in Oltepesi, Kajiado West, close to Nairobi, on Thursday.

According to a statement by the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) Spokesperson, Zipporah Kioko, the Mi 171E helicopter crash landed around 9 am on Thursday.

Col Kioko added that those who were injured were taken to the Defence Forces Memorial Hospital in Nairobi.

The bodies of the 10 soldiers who died in the crash have been moved to Nairobi.

She said aircraft accident investigators had arrived at the scene to establish the cause of the crash.

Kajiado West Deputy County Commissioner, Muranga Morakwa, said that KDF had been training in the area for a long time.

Prior to the crash, the helicopter circled in the air for over 20 minutes as those onboard scrambled to jump out.