Xeque
18th Jun 2007, 03:47
From todays London Daily Telegraph - sad news
Five Britons and their Canadian pilot have been killed in a light aircraft crash in Malawi, officials said last night.
The group, who are not being named until next of kin have been informed, were reportedly on a cycling tour of the African country when they took a 45-minute sightseeing flight over the Nyika plateau, a national park.
"It was long overdue, it didn't return to base on time," said Dixie Kwatani, Malawi's acting chief officer of air traffic services. Search parties were sent out by air and ground, including the army, game rangers and police, and the wreckage of the aircraft, a Cessna 206, was found yesterday in Rumchi district.
"Apparently, it was discovered crashed," said Mr Kwatani. "There are no known survivors." It was not clear what conditions were like at the time, he added.
One of the dead is a woman.
The aircraft is owned by a tour company, Nyika Safaris, who referred calls to the British High Commission.
A spokesman for the Foreign Office said: "We can confirm we have been notified by the Malawi authorities that there were British fatalities."
Five Britons and their Canadian pilot have been killed in a light aircraft crash in Malawi, officials said last night.
The group, who are not being named until next of kin have been informed, were reportedly on a cycling tour of the African country when they took a 45-minute sightseeing flight over the Nyika plateau, a national park.
"It was long overdue, it didn't return to base on time," said Dixie Kwatani, Malawi's acting chief officer of air traffic services. Search parties were sent out by air and ground, including the army, game rangers and police, and the wreckage of the aircraft, a Cessna 206, was found yesterday in Rumchi district.
"Apparently, it was discovered crashed," said Mr Kwatani. "There are no known survivors." It was not clear what conditions were like at the time, he added.
One of the dead is a woman.
The aircraft is owned by a tour company, Nyika Safaris, who referred calls to the British High Commission.
A spokesman for the Foreign Office said: "We can confirm we have been notified by the Malawi authorities that there were British fatalities."