New twist introduced in Lake Nakuru Chopper crash that left 5 dead

janet ndila

October 25, 2017 9:36 AM

Police have managed to recover two bodies as the search for the others continue

A new twist has been introduced in the Lake Nakuru Chopper crash that left five people dead.

The team of officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations and the Police Crime Unit has started to trace the last moments of the five people who were killed in the crash.

The officers are tracing the last moments to ascertain if the pilot of the plane was under the influence of alcohol or had been drugged before he embarked on the journey.

According to an investigator who spoke to The Standard on condition of anonymity, the team visited a club where the five were said to have been on Friday night.

The officers visited the club on Monday evening at 5pm and left at around 9pm after interrogating several people, including the workers.

The detectives later went to Jarika County Lodge, where the pilot, Mr Apollo Malowa, and three male counterparts had booked rooms to spend Friday night. The other crash victims are Anthony Kipyegon, Veronicah Muthoni, John Mapozi, and Sam Gitau.

"Investigations are going on to establish if the pilot took excessive alcohol or was drugged at the club," said the investigator.

The investigators are also searching the bags belonging to the victims. "We have to get information on what might have triggered the accident," he said.

The helicopter (5Y-NMJ) crashed on Saturday morning at around 7.30am, a few minutes after taking off from Jarika County Lodge located at Freehold estate in Nakuru town.

Besides the police, the State Department of Transport through the Aircraft Accident Investigation Unit, continued with investigations into the cause of the crash yesterday.

janet ndila