A Ugandan military helicopter crashed in Mogadishu on Wednesday, killing five people and injuring six others, including civilians, the Ugandan military said.
The helicopter, carrying eight personnel with six crew members aboard, went down roughly 200 meters east of Aden Adde International Airport’s North Ramp. While the pilot, co-pilot, and flight engineer survived, they suffered serious injuries and burns. The other five onboard died, and three civilians near the crash site were also hurt.
The helicopter, a Mi-24 loaded with rockets, exploded after the crash, damaging nearby buildings.
“Being an attack helicopter, it was loaded with rockets, so the rockets caused the fire,” Ugandan military spokesperson Felix Kulayigye explained.
He ruled out enemy fire, noting that Mogadishu has been mostly cleared of al-Shabab militants, saying, “If it was an external action, we would not be talking about investigations because we would have known the cause.”
Rescue teams from the airport, the United Nations, and the African Union Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) quickly responded, moving the injured to a nearby hospital. Kulayigye added that the crash would affect escort missions temporarily but won’t halt ongoing operations.
The African Union confirmed the crash happened as the helicopter was returning from an escort mission.
