Eleven dead after plane carrying German and Hungarian tourists crashes in Kenya

A plane crash killed 11 people, mostly European tourists, in Kenya's coastal region of Kwale early on Tuesday while en route to Maasai Mara National Reserve.

The airline, Mombasa Air Safari, said that eight Hungarian passengers, two Germans and the Kenyan pilot died in the accident.

The Cessna Caravan-type aircraft crashed in a hilly and forested area about 40 kilometres (25 miles) from Diani airstrip in southeastern Kenya, authorities said.

The airline said the pilot failed to communicate upon departure from Diani and that the airport control tower tried to reach him for 30 minutes before the plane was located.

"Our primary focus right now is on providing all possible support to the families affected," Mombasa Air Safari said in a statement.

Investigating agencies said they were looking into the cause of the crash, which happened at 5:30 am local time (3:30 am CET), according to Kwale County Commissioner Stephen Orinde. There was heavy rain in coastal Kenya at the time.

The aircraft burst into flames, leaving a charred wreckage, officials said. Witnesses said they heard a loud bang, and later found unrecognisable human remains at the scene.

Kenyan media have shown images of the plane ablaze, and debris at the site of the crash.

The Maasai Mara National Reserve, located west of the coastline and is a two-hour direct flight from Diani, a popular coastal town known for its sandy beaches.

The reserve attracts a lot of tourists as it features the annual wildebeest migration from the Serengeti in Tanzania.

According to the latest safety oversight audit for Kenya by the International Civil Aviation Organization, in 2018, the nation fell below the global average in accident investigation.