NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 21 — A teacher has died after being struck by helicopter blades while picking up Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination papers in Ijara, Garissa County.
Authorities said the incident occurred in Masalani, Garissa County on Tuesday morning.
The said aircraft had gone to collect some examination materials from the Ijara Subcounty Kenya National Examination Council’s (KNEC) container for onward transmission to Garissa KNEC headquarters.
The incident was confirmed by Police Spokesperson Resila Onyango who described it as unfortunate.
“It is true we have had an incident where a teacher died after being struck by helicopter blades,” she told Capital FM News on phone.
The 35-year-old victim has been identified as the Deputy Head teacher of Masalani Primary school.
The victim met his death when he was hit by the tail rotor on the head and his right hand which was holding the phone.
“The deceased fell on the ground and died on the spot,” read a police report in part.
Among the items recovered at the scene are the KNEC container key which had been cut in two pieces, KNEC documents, personal items of the deceased and a laptop.
The scene was documented and processed by authorities.
The deceased’s body has been moved to Ijara Sub county hospital for postmortem and preservation.
Multiple helicopter incidents
The ongoing heavy rains across the country has seen increased use of helicopters to deliver supplies and examination materials in different parts of the country that has been rendered inaccessible.
The incident in Garissa marks the third aviation mishap in under 24 hours in the North Eastern region.
On Monday, two helicopters crashed in separate incidents in the neighboring Wajir County.
The first incident involved a helicopter assigned to support KCSE logistics which crashed at the Wajir International Airport while taking off.
The incident left three people injured.
Among the injured was Arbajahan Ward MCA Abey Jimaale who sustained head injuries.
A brief statement indicated that the aircraft, registered as 5Y SDL, a type/AS35O helicopter, crash landed at Taxiway A.
The chopper was headed to Arbajahan in Wajir West sub-county.
The aircraft was extensively damaged.
The second incident involved a Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) logistics helicopter which crashed in Buna, Wajir North, where it flew to deliver relief supplies to residents affected by floods.
Footage circulated online showed the chopper crashing moments after takeoff.
Details on the number of those on board were not available with KDF yet to issue a statement on the matter.
The incident, confirmed by local leaders, marked the third KDF helicopter crash in under five months.
