A Ugandan military helicopter carrying eight personnel crashed and burst into flames at Aden Adde International Airport in Mogadishu, Somalia, according to Ugandan army spokesperson Maj Gen Felix Kulaigye. Three individuals escaped with burn injuries, while five remain unaccounted for. The cause of the crash is still being investigated.
Eyewitnesses, including airport staffer Farah Abdulle, described hearing a loud explosion and seeing the helicopter engulfed in thick smoke and flames. Emergency crews managed to quickly contain the fire, Somalia’s state-run news agency confirmed.
The helicopter had arrived from Balidogle airbase, around 90km northwest of Mogadishu. It was in the military section of the airport when it went down, said Ahmed Maalim, head of the Somali Civil Aviation Authority.
Ugandan forces are part of an 11,000 strong African Union (AU) peacekeeping contingent supporting Somali efforts against the extremist group al-Shabab, which has waged a violent insurgency for over 20 years. The three survivors have been hospitalized, and recovery operations are ongoing to locate the remaining crew members. Both Somali and AU authorities have launched an investigation to determine what went wrong.
While the incident caused a delay for a Turkish Airlines flight, domestic air traffic at the airport has reportedly continued as normal.
