Plane crash-lands and bursts into flames in Kenya, killing 3 on the ground

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — A light aircraft crash-landed Friday in Kenya ‘s coastal Malindi County, killing three people on the ground, a local police official said.

The three fatalities included a motorcycle taxi driver who was killed when the plane burst into flames on impact in the town of Kwachocha along the Malindi-Mombasa highway, Sub-County Police Commander LuckyJoski Mudavadi said.

Two other victims, a motorcycle rider and a female passenger, died when parts from the separated wings and tail of the plane hit them as the aircraft crashed into a building.

A pilot and two students who were on board were being treated for injuries sustained after they jumped out of the plane before it crashed. Police were investigating the cause of the accident.

The Kwachocha area neighbors Malindi airport and its residents are in court over government plans to expand the airport before land compensation cases are concluded.

EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT – Bodies of motorists are seen at the wreckage of an aircraft that crashed on the roadside, near the accident site in the coastal city of Malindi, in southern Kenya, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Nehemiah Okwembah)

A local county assembly legislator, Rashid Odhiambo, told journalists that the accident reemphasizes the need for safety precautions to be enforced around the airport.

“Those involved in the airport management should keep ensuring safety around the airport and not just concentrate on inside the airport,” he said.