The bodies of Kenyans who died in the African Express plane that was shot down in Somalia are set to land in Nairobi this evening.
In photos seeing by Kahawa Tungu, the bodies were being loaded onto a plane for Nairobi that is expected to land at 8 PM.
The private aircraft went down after having been hit twice by Ethiopian forces rocket-propelled grenades in Bardale area in Baidoa on Monday, May 4, killing six people, 4 Kenyans and 2 Somalis.
The Kenyans were identified as Captain Mabruk Sherman and Omar Chiraghdin from Mombasa with two other crew members.
Read: President Farmajo Calls Uhuru To Express Regrets After Kenyan Aircraft Brought Down In Somalia
Online sources indicated that the Ethiopian forces were not aware that the plane was due to land in the town.
Following the news of the death of 4 Kenyans, Somalia President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo on Tuesday reached out to President Uhuru Kenyatta to express his regrets.
In a statement that was circulated to the Newsrooms, the Foreign Affairs Ministry said Farmajo made a phone call to President Kenyatta on Tuesday morning to inform him that he had ordered investigations into the incident. The probe is being conducted by Somalia’s Civil Aviation Authority.
Further, President Farmajo reportedly extended an invitation to the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) to team with their Somalia counterparts to help with the investigations.
Read Also: Kenya Demands Answers After Aircraft Brought Down by Rocket Propelled Grenade in Somalia
“The President further welcomed President Farmaajo’s invitation to Kenya’s civil aviation authorities to join in the investigation into the aircraft crash emphasizing the need to swiftly, but thoroughly conclude the process,” read the statement.
The aircraft was supporting humanitarian operations during the Covid-19 pandemic, sensing that the incident could affect humanitarian activities in Somalia, the ministry appealed to all Kenyan and other humanitarian aircraft operating in the region to exercise extra precaution in light of the incident.
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