Uganda crash: Five more bodies found

By Cyrus Ombati

Five more bodies have been recovered in Mt Kenya where Ugandan choppers crashed.

The bodies were found on Thursday evening.This brings to seven the number of bodies recovered by rescuers since Tuesday. The bodies will be flown to Nairobi.

The rescuers who include officials from the military, police, Kenya Wildlife Services, Kenya Forest and locals have been looking for the soldiers who were missing after the crash.

One of the choppers was sighted on Monday morning and seven soldiers rescued before they were taken to the Nanyuki air strip. The soldiers had sent a signal to the Department of Defence headquarters for help.

Military spokesman Bogita Ongeri said the rescuers could not disturb the scene on Tuesday after discovering a body because the chopper was still burning and there were fears that some of the weapons the victims were carrying could explode.

On Monday seven soldiers were rescued bringing the total of those who survived the crash to fifteen. Those rescued were flown to Nairobi. 

Uganda President Yoweri Museveni has formed a team to investigate the incident while President Kibaki has pledged to help in establishing the cause of the crash.

Bad weather was initially blamed for the crash that happened on Sunday evening. The three choppers were part of a fleet of four that was headed for Baidoa when they went missing.  Only one made it to Garissa as scheduled.