By Thompson ABISOLA
Search for the missing small plane that went missing in central Kenya on Tuesday was called off for the second time on Wednesday due to bad weather.
Nyandarua County Commissioner, Boaz Cherutich, said the search mission had been hampered by bad weather in the Aberdares forest where the light aircraft is suspected to have crashed.
The aircraft, operated by Fly-SAX, was carrying eight passengers and two crew members, the company said in a statement on Tuesday night.
It lost contact with the control tower on Tuesday afternoon while flying from Kitale in northwest Kenya to Nairobi.
“The search has been halted due in the Aberdares because of bad weather and will resume on Thursday at 6 a.m. We hope the weather will improve tomorrow,” Cherutich said by phone.
The government administrator said the search team had not received any communication from the two female pilots or other passengers except signals that had been received early Wednesday.
The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) said the phone signals of the two pilots were traced to Njabini area in Kinangop in central Kenya.
The Fly-SAX said two helicopters were dispatched to the location of the aircraft on Wednesday but due to poor weather they had limited ability to search the area.
“As the weather slightly cleared during the day, Fly-SAX further deployed three extra helicopters to join the search and rescue efforts under the control of the National Disaster Unit,” the company said in a statement issued on Wednesday.
It said the aircraft had not been sighted and the search will continue.
