The aircraft, bound for the Maasai Mara wildlife reserve, went down in a hilly region minutes after takeoff from an airstrip in Diani, officials said.
NAIROBI, Kenya — A small passenger plane carrying 11 people, including foreign tourists, crashed in a forested area of coastal Kenya on Tuesday shortly after departing for the popular Maasai Mara National Reserve, according to Kenyan officials.
The aircraft, identified by the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority as a Cessna Caravan, went down in a hilly area about 25 miles from the Diani airstrip from which it had departed.
Kwale County Commissioner Stephen Orinde told The Associated Press that the passengers were believed to be “all foreign tourists,” though their nationalities were not immediately confirmed.
Officials said the aircraft, operated by the local airline Mombasa Air Safari, crashed just minutes after takeoff and burst into flames upon impact.
Witnesses who arrived at the scene reported hearing a loud bang and finding a charred wreck with unrecognizable human remains. The airline confirmed it was collaborating with the civil aviation authority to investigate the cause of the crash.
The flight was en route to the Maasai Mara, one of Africa’s most renowned wildlife sanctuaries, famous for its annual wildebeest migration.
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