Kenyan plane crashes in Somalia, two injured

The aircraft, a Dash-8, was on its way to deliver supplies to the African Union Mission (Amisom) forces. [Courtesy]

A Kenyan cargo plane crashed at Mogadishu’s main airport in Somalia on Saturday, injuring two of the five crew members on board.

Officials said the Aden Adde International Airport was shut down briefly as emergency personnel attended to the crew who were aboard a Silverstone plane.

The aircraft, a Dash-8, was on its way to deliver supplies to the African Union Mission (Amisom) forces in Beledwyene, some 335 km north of Mogadishu in Central Somalia.

Witnesses said it failed to lift while taking off and hit a perimeter wall of the airport.

The aircraft had circled around the airport at low altitude before attempting an emergency landing.

Photos shared on social media showed the plane had rammed into a wall on the edge of the airport.

The aircraft registered in Kenya as 5Y-MHT routinely operates cargo flights to and within Somalia, delivering supplies to both UN and Amisom centres.

Local media quoted Ahmed Moalim Hassan, the Director-General of the Somalia Civil Aviation Authority confirming the accident saying there had been two injuries.

According to officials, the Fokker 50 suffered a runway excursion at the airport before crashing.

After takeoff, the flight crew elected to turn back to Mogadishu Airport.

During an attempted landing on runway 05, the aircraft veered off and impacted the perimeter wall.

Both pilots sustained serious injuries as a result.

It is the third crash involving Kenyan planes in the country in four months.