Two Passengers Die Aboard KQ Airline, A Deputy Governor and Another Passenger
It is saddening to Report the dead of a Deputy Governor who died while he was on his way to Mombasa for an induction meeting of the council of governors.
Deputy governor for Baringo County Mr. Kipng’ok was expected to join other county heads in the induction of the council of governors on Wednesday evening in Mombasa.
Kipngok boarded Kenya airways flight at jomo Kenyatta international Airport. Before the flight took off, he developed breathing difficulties. Doctors on board tried to revive him but to no avail. He died on the spot.
Speaking to reporters at the Lee Funeral Home in Nairobi, Baringo Governor Benjamin Cheboi confirmed the death of his deputy and said they could not immediately confirm the cause of death. Cheboi claimed that the Acting Director General of Health, Dr Amot, who was a passenger on the flight, was among the doctors who tried to revive Kipngok, but to no avail.
President William Ruto has sent his condolences to the family, describing the first-term county leader as a good, brilliant and high-class public servant and captain of industry with his achievements in the tea industry.
“The sudden death of my friend Charles Kipng’ok has shocked not only his family, friends, government and residents of Baringo County, but the entire country, especially the tea industry that flourished for a decade before the general election,” he said.
The President added: “It is very sad that the unforgiving hand of death robbed our country Mr. Kipngok at the beginning of his tenure as Deputy Governor, a role that could have contributed to the transformation of Baringo County.
National carrier KQ confirmed the death of a passenger who had difficulty breathing while boarding one of its flights yesterday.
KQ said in a statement that the passenger died at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, while the flight to Mombasa was still on the ground.
“The passenger was pronounced dead by medical staff at JKIA while the plane was still on the ground,” KQ said.
This is the third incident in four weeks.
The carrier confirmed the death of a passenger on one of its flights from Nairobi to New York earlier this month, the second such incident reported in nine days.
Another incident was reported last month when a passenger died on a flight from New York to Nairobi.
The passenger experienced breathing problems seven hours after the flight took off from New York, the airline said. A family spokesman said he had diabetes.
