Mogadishu – A Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (UPDF) helicopter under the African Union Support and Stabilisation Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) crash-landed at Aden Adde International Airport in Mogadishu on Wednesday morning, just before completing its descent.
The chopper, which was en route from the Baledogle military airbase, went down at approximately 7:30 a.m., according to a press statement released by AUSSOM. The cause of the crash is yet to be determined.
There were eight passengers on board at the time of the incident. AUSSOM confirmed that three individuals were successfully rescued and immediately taken to the mission’s Level II hospital in Mogadishu for medical treatment.
Search and rescue operations are actively ongoing to locate and extract the remaining five passengers. Their condition remains unknown at this time.
Meanwhile, aviation authorities have launched a formal investigation into the crash to establish its cause.