NAIROBI, April 24 (Reuters) – A passenger plane overran the runway and careered into roadside bushes at a remote airstrip in northeastern Kenya on Friday, but all 36 people on board escaped without injury, an aviation official said.
The Embraer aircraft operated by Kenyan carrier EBB Air had taken off from Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport at 6:56 a.m. carrying 32 passengers and four crew members, a source at the Kenya Airports Authority told Reuters.
An official at the airline said they did not have an immediate comment.
The plane skidded after landing at Mandera airstrip at about 8:30 a.m., overshot the runway and plunged into a thicket, the source said.
Pictures shared online showed the tail end of the plane sticking out while the rest of the body was buried in the bushes. Reuters has not verified the pictures.
“Everyone was accounted for, and we are waiting for the relevant authorities to investigate the cause of the accident, which also caused significant damage to the aircraft,” the aviation source added.
Local media outlet Daily Nation also reported that all on board escaped unharmed, citing the Mandera County police commander.
Mandera airstrip, near Kenya’s borders with Somalia and Ethiopia, is mainly used by humanitarian flights supplying aid to refugee camps hosting displaced Somalis, as well as chartered services for government officials and business travellers.
EBB Air operates domestic routes, mostly between Nairobi and Mandera County.
(Reporting by Edwin Okoth; Writing by Elias Biryabarema; Editing by Bate Felix and Alison Williams)
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