Five people have been confirmed dead after a helicopter operated by the African Union peacekeeping mission crashed at Mogadishu’s international airport. According to Ugandan military spokesperson Felix Kulayigye the aircraft, used by the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF), was attempting to land when the fatal accident occurred.
Kulayigye said another three of the helicopter’s eight occupants survived the incident on Wednesday 2, June but with severe injuries and burns.
The impact of the crash had caused munitions on board to detonate, destroying nearby structures and injuring three civilians, he said.
The helicopter had taken off from Baledogle Airfield in the Lower Shabelle and crash-landed at Aden Adde international airport just before touching down, the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) said.
AUSSOM also confirmed that at least three people had survived the crash, which it said took place at about 7:30am (04:30 GMT).
Minor delays were reported at the airport, but the director-general of the country’s civil aviation authority said flights had resumed.
The AUSSOM mission has more than 11,000 personnel in Somalia from countries including Uganda and Kenya.
They are helping the Somali military to counter the armed group al-Shabab, an al-Qaeda affiliate that wants to topple the country’s government and establish its own rule.
