A military chopper crashed at Eremet area in Oltinga, Kajiado West on Thursday morning.
Kajiado County Police Commander Muthuri Mwongera said the accident happened about 8 am and details of the chopper and the number of passengers remains scanty.
Eyewitnesses gave differing capacity figures, with some saying the helicopter had 21 on board, while others claiming it had 23 in it
“I have dispatched Kajiado West OCPD Vincent Kitili, to the scene in Oltinga to get us details,” Mwongera said.
The Police commander confirmed that it is an Army chopper that crashed 60 km south of Oloopolos.
One of the people on the ground said the chopper burst into flames as soon as it came down.
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Kenya defence forces have confirmed that the chopper is a Mi 171e Air force helicopter that was on a training mission.
“It crash-landed at the Ol Tepesi area in Kajiado,” KDF said via a tweet on Thursday.
KDF spokesperson Zipporah Kioko said in a statement that the helicopter was on a training mission when it went down and burst into flames.
Kioko said the aircraft can carry 24 passengers and even small vehicles.
Kajiado West OCPD Vincent Kitili said people were 13 rescued and have been flown to Forces Memorial Hospital in Nairobi.
“This is a military operation and we are not supposed to share the information from the ground. The military has taken over. Our duty is to file a signal later,” he said.
The area DC Morekwa Morang’a reports that as the chopper prepared to land, a large whirlwind occurred causing the pilot not to see the ground.
“We are yet to count the bodies of the dead,” said the DC.
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