Three dead in AU helicopter crash in Somali capital: police

An African Union helicopter crashed  Wednesday at the airport in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, killing at least three people, police and witnesses told AFP.

The aircraft was part of the African Union Support and Stabilisation Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM), tasked with fighting the Al-Shabaab militant group.

The helicopter, operated by the Ugandan contingent, "crash-landed" at around 7:30 am local time (0430 GMT) at Mogadishu's Aden Abdulle International Airport after departing from Baledogle military airbase, AUSSOM said.

"Three of the eight passengers on board were immediately rescued," and were rushed to the AUSSOM hospital, it said in a statement, without giving any details on their injuries.

It added search and rescue operations were underway to retrieve the remaining passengers and crew.

"There were several people recovered from the scene of the crash, three of them were already dead, and they were carried in stretchers," police officer Abdi Ali told AFP.

Witness Mohamed Yare, who was in the airport at the time of the crash, told AFP that some of those onboard had died "but I could not say how many".

"There were ambulances and firefighting trucks rushing to the scene, and there was smoke and fire," he said.

Somalia's civil aviation authorities told reporters that investigations were ongoing into the cause of the crash.

Ahmed Moalim Hassan, director-general of the Somali Civil Aviation Authority, said that, while some of the debris had scattered across the runway, the airport remained operational.

Unverified clips and images shared online showed a plume of black smoke over the city.

The AUSSOM mission faces funding difficulties, even as fears of an Al-Shabaab resurgence are stoked by attacks in the Horn of Africa nation.