At least six people have been confirmed dead after an air ambulance plane crashed into a residential neighborhood in Mwihoko, a suburb in Kiambu County, just outside Kenya’s capital, Nairobi.

The aircraft, a Cessna Citation XLS owned by AMREF Flying Doctors, had taken off from Wilson Airport in Nairobi and was en route to Somaliland when it went down under unclear circumstances.

The crash occurred in the early hours of Thursday, August 7. The Kenya Red Cross and other emergency services swiftly responded to the scene.

According to Kiambu County Commissioner Henry Wafula, the four people on board the plane died on impact. Two other individuals, believed to be residents of a house the plane crashed into, also lost their lives, bringing the total number of confirmed fatalities to six.

“Four people who were on board the plane have been confirmed dead. Unfortunately, two other victims were inside the house the aircraft crashed into,” Commissioner Wafula said while briefing reporters at the site.

The Kenya Red Cross had initially reported that the crash involved a helicopter but later confirmed that it was a fixed-wing aircraft.

In an official statement, AMREF Flying Doctors expressed condolences and confirmed the incident involving their aircraft. They refrained from disclosing the exact number of casualties or speculating on the cause of the crash.

“We are cooperating fully with relevant aviation authorities and emergency response teams to establish the facts surrounding the situation,” the statement read.

The organization also assured the public that a full investigation is underway and pledged to support affected families.

Authorities, including the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) and emergency teams, have launched investigations to determine the cause of the crash.

Eyewitnesses in the neighborhood described seeing smoke and hearing a loud explosion before rushing to the scene.