KDF chopper crashes in Machakos with two soldiers on board

A Kenya Defence Forces chopper on Monday crashed on Monday in Kathyoka, Machakos county, with two soldiers on board during a training mission.

The Ministry of Defence issued a statement over the incident saying the US-made light attack helicopter gunship MD 530F crashed at about 10am.

REPORTED DEATHS

The cause of the crash was not immediately established.

“This was a training flight. Onboard were two pilots who have been evacuated from the crash site,” read the statement from the ministry.

In a separate statement, Machakos Sub County Commander Karanja Muiruri confirmed that two KDF officers had died from the plane crash.

The air crash has also been confirmed by a police report filed at Kithyoko Police Station, Machakos County seen by Nairobi News.

SCENE OF CRASH

Photos from the scene of the accident have also been widely shared on social media.

The plane was one of the six helicopters acquired from the United States through the US Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program in January.

The helicopters were acquired from the United States through the US Foreign Military Sales programme.

The MD 530F planes are part of the Sh26 billion ($253 million) arms deal that Nairobi signed with Washington, and which got the United States Congress approval in May 2017.

The military chopper comes just a month after a police chopper crash landed in Meru.