At least three people were killed when an African Union peacekeeping mission’ helicopter crashed at the international airport in Mogadishu, according to authorities.
According to Artan Mohamed, the head of the airport’s immigration office, the incident took place on Wednesday at Aden Adde airport as the helicopter attempted to land.
Eight people were on board the helicopter, which belonged to the Ugandan Air Force but was being operated by the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM), he claimed. It took off from Baledogle Airfield in the Lower Shabelle region.
A Ugandan military spokesman claims that three of the passengers on board managed to survive the incident.
At least three people were also found to have survived the collision, which allegedly occurred at around 7.30 am (04:30GMT) local time.
Without providing further information about their health, the survivors were transported to the AUSSOM hospital, it continued.
Witnesses described the helicopter exploding, igniting a fire, and plummeting to the ground.
Omar Farah, an aviation officer, told The Associated Press that he “saw the helicopter spinning and then it fell very quickly, while Abdirahim Ali, a resident, claimed he witnessed “a huge explosion and smoke everywhere.”
Flights resumed, according to the director-general of the nation’s civil aviation authority, despite the airport’s reported minor delays.
“The situation has been managed,” he declared. According to Ahmed Macalin Hassan, the runway is level and fully operational, and flights can take off and land as usual.
More than 11, 000 Somalia residents, including those from Kenya and Uganda, make up the AUSSOM mission.
They are aiding the Somali military in battling al-Shabab, an al-Qaeda affiliate that wants to overthrow the nation’s ruling class and establish its own rule.
According to state media reports, the Somali army killed a well-known member of the organization this week in the Middle Shabelle.
Source: Aljazeera
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