Related:  Military plane crashes in eastern Kenya
          At least 13 feared dead in plane crash: Kenyan official 

    NAIROBI, April 10 (Xinhua) -- Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki has expressed shock and concern following the crash of a military aircraft in north Kenya where the fate of a number of politicians and senior government officials on a peace mission is yet to be known, the country's Presidential Press Service (PPS) said in a statement Monday.

    Earlier in the day, officials confirmed that a military plane belonging to Kenya Air Force crashed in the northeastern town of Marsabit with 18 people on board.

    At least four people have so far been rescued and no deaths have been confirmed, they said. It is reported that the passengers include several lawmakers and local security committee members.

    In his message, President Kibaki said he had received the news with shock and disbelief especially bearing in mind that the officials were on a mission to broker peace in northern Kenya.

    The Kenyan government has mounted a swift operation to assist in rescue and evacuation and has dispatched two planes on the rescue mission, Kibaki was quoted as saying in the PPS statement.

    The military plane reportedly went down early Monday in bad weather following heavy downpour.

    The plane burst into flames after hitting a hill and crashing near the National Cereals Board depot a few kilometers outside the Marsabit town, about 450 kilometers northeast of Kenya's capital Nairobi. Enditem