Tayebwa survives helicopter crash

KAMPALA, Uganda | Xinhua | A helicopter carrying Ugandan Deputy Speaker of the Parliament Thomas Tayebwa suffered an accident on Saturday night in the western district of Mbarara, but there were no casualties, a police spokesperson said on Sunday.

Rusoke Kituuma, Uganda’s police spokesperson, told Xinhua over the phone that the near-miss, involving a private Bell 206 JetRanger helicopter reportedly belonging to a local airline BAR Aviation Uganda, occurred at Nyakisharara airfield while Tayebwa and his entourage were on their way back to Kampala, the country’s capital.

Local media reported Sunday that fire was seen coming from the cockpit, causing panic, and the pilot decided to crash land the helicopter.

Tayebwa said on his social media handle, X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday that no one was injured in the crash. “Dear all, my colleagues and I are all okay. No one is hurt.”

The last helicopter accident in Uganda occurred in January this year when a Ugandan military helicopter used for operations against the Allied Democratic Forces rebels in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo crashed and burst into flames in Uganda’s western district of Ntoroko. Two crew members and a civilian died when the Mi-28 gunship crashed. ■