Horror as plane crashes after 'exploding mid-air' with 12 feared dead

Twelve people are feared dead after a plane reportedly exploded mid-air and crashed in Kenya. The aircraft was heading towards the Maasai Mara National Reserve, with the collision understood to have occurred in a hilly region around 25-miles from Diani airstrip. The passengers were "all foreign tourists", according to Kwale County Commissioner Stephen Orinde, and their nationalities are set to be confirmed later. The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority confirmed that an investigation into the incident has begun.

The exact number of passengers and crew that were onboard is not current known. It is believed that the plane crashed just minutes after taking off and burst into flames, leaving behind wreckage cordoned off by the authorities. There was a loud bang, witnesses told the Associated Press (AP), and human remains were found at the scene, but were unrecognisable. Mombasa Air Safari says it is collaborating with Kenya's civil aviation organisation, and updates on the crash would be shared.

The Masai Mara wildlife conservation area is visited by tourists who would like to see lions, cheetahs, elephants, rhinoceroses, buffalo, wildebeest, giraffe, zebra and many more animals.

They are unconfined and free to roam the wilderness, which stretches for miles on end.

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