The wreckage of two Ugandan helicopters that went missing on
Sunday has been found in a remote area of Kenya, a Kenyan army spokesman
has said.
The fate of those on board - believed to be 14 people - is unknown, Col Cyrus Oguna said. Both aircrafts were part of a contingent being sent to reinforce the African Union (AU) force in Somalia. A third helicopter on the same mission made an emergency landing in Mount Kenya on Sunday. Its passengers have been rescued. Only one of the four Russian-made helicopters en route to Somalia had made a scheduled refuelling stop on Sunday in the Kenyan town of Garissa.
The wreckage of the two missing helicopters was spotted on Mount Kenya - at 5,199 metres (17,057 feet) - by wildlife officers. A Kenyan army team is on the way to the site of the crash. One helicopter has been completely destroyed and the other partially, Oguna said.
The combat helicopters came down as they were flying from Uganda to Somalia to take part in an AU-led offensive to capture the port city of Kismayo from the militant Islamist group al-Shabab, correspondents say.
Ugandan troops form the bulk of the nearly 17,000-strong AU force in Somalia, where they are supporting the UN-backed government.
The fate of those on board - believed to be 14 people - is unknown, Col Cyrus Oguna said. Both aircrafts were part of a contingent being sent to reinforce the African Union (AU) force in Somalia. A third helicopter on the same mission made an emergency landing in Mount Kenya on Sunday. Its passengers have been rescued. Only one of the four Russian-made helicopters en route to Somalia had made a scheduled refuelling stop on Sunday in the Kenyan town of Garissa.
The wreckage of the two missing helicopters was spotted on Mount Kenya - at 5,199 metres (17,057 feet) - by wildlife officers. A Kenyan army team is on the way to the site of the crash. One helicopter has been completely destroyed and the other partially, Oguna said.
The combat helicopters came down as they were flying from Uganda to Somalia to take part in an AU-led offensive to capture the port city of Kismayo from the militant Islamist group al-Shabab, correspondents say.
Ugandan troops form the bulk of the nearly 17,000-strong AU force in Somalia, where they are supporting the UN-backed government.
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