As many as six people have been killed after a plane belonging to an air ambulance service provider plummeted into a house in Kenya.

The Cessna Citation XLS took off from Wilson Airport in Nairobi at 2.14pm today – en route to Somaliland – before air traffic control lost radio contact only three minutes later.

It was moments later that the jet crashed just metres away from Mwihoko Secondary School in Utawala.

Four people on board were killed,and two others died inside a home struck by the aircraft,Kiambu county commissioner Henry Wafula confirmed.

Rescuers go through the wreckage of a crashed Cessna Citation 560 ambulance aircraft (Picture: EPA)

Footage circulating on social media shows plumes of grey smoke rising from the site of the crash,with crowds gathering to look for survivors.

Charred slices of metal – part of the wreckage of the jet – are scattered in the area.

Firefighters can be seen trying to douse burning debris inside what seems to be a residential compound.

One witness,who wished not to be named,told Reuters she heard a loud sound,then saw a fireball and debris across the neighbourhood.

Emergency personnel work at the scene,searching for survivors (Picture: Reuters)

The identities of the victims and the cause of the incident have not been officially released.

What is known is that four crew and medical personnel were on board the small plane.

The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) said: ‘We are deeply saddened by this tragic incident involving an air ambulance mission.’

Crashes involving light aircraft are relatively common in eastern Africa.

In April last year,Kenya’s military chief was among 10 people killed when their military helicopter crashed shortly after takeoff.

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