A Kenyan military helicopter conveying a defence chief crashed on Thursday, police said.
Upon receiving the news, President William Ruto convened an urgent meeting of the National Security Council, according to a statement by the office of the President.
“President William Ruto has convened an urgent meeting of the National Security Council at State House Nairobi this evening following a Kenya Defence Forces’ helicopter crash this afternoon in Elgeyo-Marakwet County,” State House spokesman Hussein Mohamed said.
Defence forces chief General Francis Omondi Ogolla was among those on board the helicopter that went down in Elgeyo Marakwet county, about 400 kilometres (250 miles) northwest of the capital Nairobi, a senior police officer told AFP.
“The helicopter burst into flames after crashing and it had more than 10 senior commanders on board including General Ogolla,” the officer said.
“They were in the area on a security mission because there are KDF (Kenya Defence Forces) soldiers deployed in the region,” he said.
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