Two Injured After Kenyan Cargo Plane Crash-Lands in Somalia

A cargo aircraft belonging to Kenyan airline, Silverstone Air was damaged after it crashed in Somalia on Saturday.

The Fokker 50 (5Y-MHT) plane crash-landed at Aden Abdulle International Airport in Mogadishu after the pilot attempted to make an emergency landing, according to reports.

The aircraft is said to have circled the airport at low altitude shortly after take-off with the crew electing to turn back to the same airport.

It was scheduled to deliver supplies to the African Union Mission (Amisom) forces in Beledwyene, some 335 kilometers north of Mogadishu.

The incident was confirmed by Ahmed Moalim Hassan, the Director-General of the Somalia Civil Aviation Authority.

Two of the five occupants on board sustained injuries and the airport was temporarily shut down as emergency personnel attended to the wounded crew.

Photos shared on social media show the plane’s cockpit crushed against the airport’s concrete perimeter wall a few meters from the sea.

The ill-fated aircraft regularly operates cargo flights to and within Somalia, delivering supplies to both the United Nations and Amisom centers.

This was the third crash involving Kenyan planes in Somalia in four months.