Gunship
29th Nov 2002, 09:46
IOL (http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=68&art_id=qw1038491820772B252&set_id=1)
Nairobi - At least seven people were injured when a light aircraft crashed in south-west Kenya on Thursday after taking off from Mombasa, the scene of attacks on Israelis earlier in the day, rescuers said.
Bettina Vadera of the flying doctor service AMREF said some passengers were still trapped in the wreckage at the crash site in the Maasai Mara, a wilderness area popular with tourists. Two aircraft with medical teams and extraction equipment had been despatched to the area, she told Reuters.
The crash happened within hours of a suicide car bombing of an Israeli-owned Mombasa hotel which killed 15 people and a missile attack narrowly missed an Israeli airliner flying from Mombasa. The Israeli Foreign Ministry said three Israelis, including two children, died in the bombing.
Vadera said investigators were looking at the possibility of a link between the crash and the missile attack.
"One cannot rule out that there is a connection because the plane also took off from Mombasa," Dr Vadera said. "It doesn't look likely but at this stage it's too early to rule it out".
Seven people, all with injuries, have already been rescued from the scene about 3km from the Mara Intrepid tourist camp and were being flown to Nairobi's Wilson Airport, she said.
The plane that crashed can carry up to 20 passengers but it is not yet clear how many were on board, she said.
It was not clear where the plane was heading but the area is full of landing strips used by light aircraft that ferry tourists to luxury game lodges.
Nairobi - At least seven people were injured when a light aircraft crashed in south-west Kenya on Thursday after taking off from Mombasa, the scene of attacks on Israelis earlier in the day, rescuers said.
Bettina Vadera of the flying doctor service AMREF said some passengers were still trapped in the wreckage at the crash site in the Maasai Mara, a wilderness area popular with tourists. Two aircraft with medical teams and extraction equipment had been despatched to the area, she told Reuters.
The crash happened within hours of a suicide car bombing of an Israeli-owned Mombasa hotel which killed 15 people and a missile attack narrowly missed an Israeli airliner flying from Mombasa. The Israeli Foreign Ministry said three Israelis, including two children, died in the bombing.
Vadera said investigators were looking at the possibility of a link between the crash and the missile attack.
"One cannot rule out that there is a connection because the plane also took off from Mombasa," Dr Vadera said. "It doesn't look likely but at this stage it's too early to rule it out".
Seven people, all with injuries, have already been rescued from the scene about 3km from the Mara Intrepid tourist camp and were being flown to Nairobi's Wilson Airport, she said.
The plane that crashed can carry up to 20 passengers but it is not yet clear how many were on board, she said.
It was not clear where the plane was heading but the area is full of landing strips used by light aircraft that ferry tourists to luxury game lodges.