The wreckage of the missing Cessna plane, 5Y-CAC has been located, south of the Aberdares by an aerials search team, according to Transport PS Paul Maringa. He said the wreckage was found at 6:45 am on Thursday and a ground team of military specialists in rescue operations has been dispatched to the site, “A recovery team including medics has also been directed there and the Red Cross is on board too,” he said.
The PS said another statement will be issued on the state of passengers and the crew once more information is gathered, and he urged Kenyans to avoid speculations on the cause of the crash, “Investigations into the probable causes of the accident have commenced.” However, he said the wreckage appears “reasonably damaged” but that doesn’t dampen their expectations in search and rescue efforts.
The plane, which was heading to Nairobi from Kitale, went missing on Tuesday and it reportedly lost contact with the control tower at JKIA at 5:20 pm, and at first it was thought to be a radio failure. The search for the plane, which had 8 passengers and 2 crew members commenced with teams from Kenya Civil Aviation Authority, Aircraft Accident Investigation Department, KWS and Kenya Airforce, although bad weather proved to be an impediment. On Tuesday, East African Safari Air Express had no knowledge of the plane’s whereabouts, and afterwards, search operations received a boost after a signal was traced to Aberdare forest.