Related: Kenyan President shocked by plane crash

    NAIROBI, April 10 (Xinhua) -- At least 13 people are feared dead in the plane crash earlier Monday in Kenya's northeastern town of Marsabit, said a Kenyan military official who declined to be named.

    The military official confirmed the plane was carrying 17 people including lawmakers and senior politicians who were due to attend a security meeting in the Marsabit town, about 450 kilometers northeast of Kenya's capital Nairobi.

    "We fear 13 people may have died from the crash which occurred shortly after noon (0900 GMT)," he said.

    Kenyan President Mwai 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 a statement issued by the Presidential Press Service.

    The military plane reportedly went down 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. Enditem