TSC mourns teacher killed in Garissa helicopter accident

Teachers Service Commission mourns the passing of dedicated educator Ahmed Nur Ismail in a helicopter accident. [Standard, File]

The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has expressed its condolences to the family and friends of Ahmed Nur Ismail, who died in a helicopter accident on Tuesday.

Ismail was an acting deputy head teacher at Handaro Primary School in Garissa County and was involved in the delivery of the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination materials to various centres in the county.

According to reports, Ismail was hit by the blades of a helicopter that crashed during an attempted take-off in Masalani, Ijara, Garissa County.

The helicopter had gone to collect some examination materials from the Ijara Sub-County Kenya National Examination Council's (KNEC) container for onward transmission to Garissa KNEC headquarters.

The cause of the crash is still under investigation.

TSC Commission CEO Dr. Nancy Macharia praised Ismail for his dedication and exemplary service to the commission for six years.

She said Ismail was a distinguished teacher and school manager who was also an outstanding ICT champion in Garissa County.

"Ahmed will be remembered for his world-class teaching and school management services during his six-year employment with the Teachers Service Commission. Ahmed was also an outstanding ICT champion in Garissa County whose services will be dearly missed," she said in a statement on Tuesday, November 21.

"Please accept our deepest sympathies," she added.

The incident in Garissa was the third aviation mishap in under 24 hours in the North Eastern region.

The ongoing heavy rains across the country have increased the use of helicopters to deliver supplies and examination materials to different parts of the country that have been rendered inaccessible.