Plane Crash in Kenya Kills 11, Mostly Foreign Tourists Heading to Maasai Mara

Liputan6.com, Jakarta A tragic plane crash rocked the coastal region of Kwale, Kenya, on Tuesday morning, October 28, 2025.

The incident killed eleven people, most of whom were foreign tourists on vacation.

The small Cessna Caravan plane crashed shortly after takeoff, as reported by The Independent.

The victims included eight Hungarian nationals, two German nationals, and a Kenyan pilot.

They were all on a flight from the popular beach resort of Diani to the Kichwa Tembo airstrip in the Maasai Mara National Reserve.

There were no survivors in the fatal crash, which happened in a hilly and forested area.

The aircraft, registered 5Y-CCA, operated by Mombasa Air Safari, was destroyed and caught fire at the scene.

Footage shows the smoldering remains of an airplane that crashed in Kwale, Kenya on Tuesday. 10 tourists aboard and the pilot were killed in the aviation disaster. The cause of the crash is unknown. pic.twitter.com/zbPAd7G7sI

— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) October 28, 2025

As reported by CNN, the Kenyan plane crash happened just minutes after the Cessna Caravan took off from Diani airstrip.

The plane was scheduled to fly to the Maasai Mara National Reserve, a popular tourist destination in Kenya known for its wildebeest migration.

After takeoff, the pilot of flight 5Y-CCA failed to communicate with the airport control tower.

Attempts by the control tower to contact the plane for approximately 30 minutes were unsuccessful.

Kwale County Commissioner Stephen Orinde told the BBC that the plane crashed about 10km (six miles) from Kwale town after flying out of Diani.

It was on its way to Kichwa Tembo, an airstrip in Maasai Mara, popular with holidaymakers because of its wildlife.

"The passengers were all tourists," Orinde said.

Witnesses at the scene reported hearing a loud explosion before discovering the charred wreckage of the plane.

Bad weather, with heavy rain and thick fog, is suspected to have contributed to the worsening flight conditions over the Kenyan coast at the time. 

The tragic plane crash in Kenya claimed the lives of eleven individuals, with no survivors.

Identification of the victims indicates that the majority were foreign tourists enjoying their vacation.

Eight of the victims were from Hungary, two from Germany, and the Kenyan pilot.

Initially, the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) reported that there were 12 people on board the plane, but this figure was later revised to 11 without further explanation.

Currently, the exact cause of the plane crash in Kenya is still under intensive investigation by the relevant agencies.

The Kenyan Ministry of Roads and Transport stated that the plane was completely destroyed by the impact and subsequent fire.

However, investigators are committed to conducting a thorough analysis to provide clarity to the public and the victims' families.

According to the latest safety oversight audit for Kenya posted on the International Civil Aviation Organization website, as of 2018, the country is below the global average in accident investigations.