5 Brits Die in Jungle Air Crash

By VICTORIA RAYMOND

FIVE Britons were killed yesterday when a plane carrying 114 people crashed in dense forest in Africa.

The Kenya Airways jet lost contact with airport controllers shortly after taking off in the early hours, following a stop to pick up more passengers in Cameroon.

Authorities received an automatic distress signal from the Boeing 737-800 airliner near the coastal town of Niete in southern Cameroon. Military helicopters and search planes were scrambled to find the crash scene after villagers heard a large explosion.

The five Brits – including Anthony Mitchell, a journalist with the Associated Press agency – were among 105 passengers and nine crew on the flight from Douala to Nairobi, which took off an hour late because of rain and fog. Mr Mitchell is based in Nairobi but has family in London.

AP executive editor Kathleen Carroll said: “Anthony had contacted his family before the flight to let them know he was headed home.”

Last night the Foreign Office could not confirm the names of the Britons.

Other worried relatives were clinging to hopes that their loved ones might be found alive and gathered at a hotel in Nairobi and the airport to await news.

Kenya’s transport minister, Ali Chirau Makwere, said: “It is too early to determine the cause of the crash.”

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