Farmajo, Uhuru Agree To Joint Probe On Plane Crash

Somalia President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo and his Kenyan counterpart Uhuru Kenyatta have agreed to a joint probe into the aircraft crash that occurred on Monday evening.

The Kenyan-registered cargo aircraft, 5Y-AXO, belonging to African Express crashed in Bardere, Somalia as it approached the airport.

Through a telephone call to Uhuru on Tuesday morning, Farmajo invited the Kenyan civil aviation authorities to team up with their Somalia counterparts with a view to completing the investigations expeditiously.

Initial reports indicate that the aircraft left the capital Mogadishu and briefly stopped in the city of Baidoa before continuing to the town of Bardale, in the southern Bay region, where it crashed a short distance from the airport.

It had coronavirus aid supplies aimed at supporting humanitarian operations in the country.

At the time of the accident, the aircraft had six persons on board. Two of them were Kenyans.

Somalia’s civil aviation authorities have already mounted an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the crash.

In this regard, Uhuru welcomed Farmajo’s invitation to Kenya’s civil aviation authorities to join in the investigation emphasizing the need to swiftly, but thoroughly conclude the process.