Tears, anguish as names of plane crash victims revealed

Tears and anguish characterised scenes in Njabini and Nairobi’s Weston Hotel as families of the plane crash victims were told their kin were no more.

All the ten passengers who were onboard the Fly SAX plane that crashed in the Aberdares on Tuesday evening perished.

The eight passengers were Karaba Sailah Waweru Muiga, Pinuertorn Ronald, Matakasakaraia Thamani, Wafula Robinson, Ahmed Ali Abdi, Matakatekei Paula, Ngugi George Kinyua and Khetia Kishani.

Names of the two pilots of the Fly SAX aircraft who also died in the plane crash are Captain Barbra Wangeci Kamau and First Officer Jean Mureithi.

https://twitter.com/AmakanjiThomas/status/1004684621940953090

Residents of Njabini in Kinangop, where the wreckage of the plane was found, had to help carry the bodies downhill as foggy weather prevented aerial intervention.

I prayed and hoped that they find you still holding on but i read now that you’re gone. From my class window i watched and envied how you handled the van with confidence and so much pride. Rest in peace Barbara! pic.twitter.com/LA2k5IdOss

— Cpt. Conrad (@Cpt_conrad) June 7, 2018

The remains were then moved to the Lee Funeral Home in Nairobi.

A search team from the Kenya Defense Force (KDF), Kenya Red Cross, Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) and other agencies located the site of the plane crash at around 1pm on Thursday.

They had been searching for the missing plane for almost 48 hours, an exercise that had to be called off twice due to poor weather.

The Cesna plane operated by Fly SAX was enroute to Nairobi from Kitale on Tuesday evening when it went missing at 5:20pm.

It had a capacity of 12 passengers but only ten boarded the aircraft.

A man from Bungoma cancelled his trip after it was announced that the flight would be delayed until late that afternoon.

Peter Mwangale, 68, told Citizen TV that he decided to go back home after airport staff pushed the departure time forward twice due to foggy weather.