NAIROBI, June 7 (Xinhua) -- Kenyan search teams said on Thursday that they have intensified ground operations after sighting the missing small plane that went missing in the Aberdare forest in central Kenya on Tuesday.
Daniel Nyameti, Nyandarua County Deputy Commissioner, said the ground team began the search early Thursday after the aerial search teams spotted the wreckage of the Fly-SAX plane at the peak of the Aberdare range.
"Our aerial search commenced early morning and it has yielded to positive/good results, we have focused point, we are narrowing down to the spot to confirm. To reach the spot, it may require sometime or hours due to rugged terrain," Nyameti told journalists.
The Fly-SAX plane, registration number 5Y-CAC, was flying from the Kitale in western Kenyan to the capital of Nairobi when it lost contact with the control tower on Tuesday afternoon.
The 12-seat aircraft had 10 people on board -- eight passengers and two crew members.
Families of those involved in the crash expressed their frustration with the grueling wait for the outcome of the rescue operations. But the government has assured the country that all efforts are being done to reach the spot and called for calm. Family and friends of the missing passengers and crew have been gathering at a hotel in Nairobi awaiting further information.
Paul Maringa, Transport Ministry Principal Secretary, said on Thursday that the helicopter that was conducting aerial surveillance located the Fly SAX aircraft in Njabini.
"The ground search will intensify in the next hour despite poor weather conditions that are posing a challenge," Maringa told journalists in Nairobi.
He said the wreck of the plane, registration number 5Y-CAC was found at 6.45 a.m local time by the aerial search team at Elephant Point, some 11,000 feet above sea level.
"A ground team of military specialists in mountain rescue operations has been dispatched to the site, which is 11,900ft up a 400m cliff face in a dense area," Maringa said.
"A recovery team, including medics has been directed there, and the Red Cross is on board too," he added. However, the condition of the plane's two crew members and eight passengers is not yet known.
Maringa said investigations into the probable cause of the accident have commenced and promised to update the country as and when it becomes available.
Nyandarua County Commissioner Boaz Cherutich said the search team has stepped up efforts to reach the crash scene.
"It's now a matter of landing to do the rescue. The rescue team has strategized on how to land and conclude the job," Cherutich said.
