How a Newly Graduated Nurse Rushed to Help Victims of Nandi Helicopter Crash

A helicopter carrying six people crashed and caught fire in Chepkiep Village, Nandi County, on 28 February, killing everyone on board, including Emurua Dikirr MP Johana Ng’eno.

The aircraft went down at approximately 4:20 pm, just a few hundred metres from the home of 20-year-old nurse Jacobeth Jeptoo. Having recently completed her training at Kendu Adventist School of Medical Sciences, Jeptoo was among the first to reach the scene. She said she heard a loud noise and ran outside with her mother, Veronica Jemeli, to find the helicopter in flames.

Jeptoo immediately put on gloves and a mask and took her medical kit to assist the victims. She found two passengers still alive but critically injured. One died within minutes, likely from internal bleeding, while the other survived for about thirty minutes despite severe burns and heavy blood loss. Both died before emergency services arrived.

“I was the only medic there. We did everything we could, monitored airways, positioned the victims, even covered the bodies with bedsheets, but the injuries were too severe,” Jeptoo told the Nation. 

She criticised the slow response, noting that ambulances from Kapsabet County Referral Hospital did not arrive until nearly 7:00 pm. The crash also killed retired Captain George Were, journalist Nick Kosgei, Narok County protocol officer Wycliffe Kiprotich Rono, Kenya Forest Service ranger Amos Rotich, and teacher Carlos Kipng’etich Keter.

Jeptoo called on bystanders to prioritise helping the injured over taking photographs. “Not everything has to be recorded. If you can help, just do it,” she said.