Eight Ugandan servicemen walked away from their helicopter after it crashed in Kenya en route to war-torn Somalia while two soldiers were confirmed dead in another crash, officials said yesterday.

Theirs were among three Russian-made Mi-24 combat helicopters that went down on Sunday in a remote, mountainous region of Kenya. One was found on Monday, with all seven servicemen on board rescued. Uganda has blamed poor weather for the crashes.

“We have rescued eight survivors,” said Simon Gitau, a senior warden with the Kenya Wildlife Service, which is involved in the rescue operation. “All of them were in the helicopter that crashed but did not catch fire.”

The eight soldiers found yesterday had trekked some eight kilometres through dense forests in search of help.

“They are in good condition after walking away from the crash site,” Mr Gitau said.

“All of them have been airlifted to safety,” he added. “We are now using sniffer dogs to help trace more survivors, if any, in the forest.”