Somalia plane crash pilots buried in low-key ceremony

Two Kenyan pilots who died in an aircraft crash in Bardale, Baidoa in Somalia, were buried in a low-key ceremony in Mombasa on Thursday night.

The bodies of Mabrouk Sherman, who was flight officer and Omar Jamal Chirgdin, a flight crew, arrived at the Moi International Airport in Mombasa on Thursday evening aboard a private jet belonging to African Express, the company they were working for.

They were buried at Kikowani and Aldina Visram cemeteries at around 7pm, with only a few family members and politicians in attendance.

Mr Sherman came from Ganjoni in Mombasa while Jamal’s parents hail from Kikambala in Kilifi County.

The two perished alongside four other people on board on Monday after their plane crashed and burst into flames under unclear circumstances. Kenyan authorities and Somalia are probing the accident.

The aircraft was delivering relief and medical supplies when it came down.

Kenya and Somalia have agreed to conduct a joint investigation into the accident.

Mombasa Senator Mohammed Faki, who received the bodies at airport, asked the government to expedite the investigations to establish what caused the accident. He described the accident as “abnormal”.