Kenyan soldiers who survived the disastrous chopper crash on Thursday, June 24, jumped from several meters to save their lives.
The soldiers are said to have used a rope that had been lowered from the chopper after it became apparent that the pilot had lost control of the Mi-17E Air Force chopper – and was likely to crash.
The over 20 soldiers are said to have scrambled to descend from the chopper using the rope with other reportedly jumping from several meters without the rope.
A number of the soldiers were – however – unable to jump as attempts to save dear life became a scramble as each fought to rescue themselves.
The scramble reportedly went on for over 20 minutes before the plane tumbled and burst into flames – with dark smoke billowing into the skies.
Materials exploded
The fire was reportedly fueled further by the assortment of highly volatile training equipment and ammunition that was carried by the soldiers for the exercise.
The 9:00am accident at the Ol Tepesi area in Ngong, Kajiado County shocked the country after it claimed the lives of 10 military officers and left 13 seriously injured.
According to the military, the accident was caused by poor vision occasioned by dust which – but investigations are still ongoing.
A source from the military indicated that the experienced female pilot may have experienced loss of situational awareness and disorientation leading to the crash. It is however clear that she tried to steady the chopper in vain.
Moved in zigzag
Residents of the area who witnessed the accident said that they saw the chopper move in zigzag manner just above Oltinka shopping centre before it lost control and crashed.
“I witnessed death first-hand. We aided some of the survivors to the main road before they were ferried to private hospitals in Kiserian town,” an eyewitness told the Nation.
“My uncle perished in the crash. He was among the trainers and a distinguished military servant. We are praying for peace for our family and the rest of KDF officers too,” one of the relatives who lost a kin told Kenyans.co.ke.
It’s not the first accident
The accident came just weeks after a chopper that had ferried former Prime Minister Raila Odinga crash-landed in Gem Siaya County just moments after dropping the ODM leader.
There have been a few cases of helicopters crashing in Kenya.
In May 2020, a light Kenyan police aircraft ferrying a security team to a meeting crash-landed in the eastern region of Meru. The aircraft which was en route to Marsabit crashed after developing mechanical problems. No one was killed in the accident.