Kenya’s military chief, Gen Francis Omondi Ogolla, has died after a military helicopter crashed in the west of the country, President William Ruto has announced.

Ogolla was in the helicopter alongside eleven other military personnel. Only two people survived.

In a news conference, President Ruto said it was a “tragic moment”. He had earlier convened an urgent meeting of the country’s security council.

Ruto said the crash happened at 14:20 local time (12:20 BST).

The President said Kenya Air Force has dispatched an air investigation team to establish the cause of the crash.

The helicopter came down in Elgeyo Marakwet county, some 400km (250 miles) north-west of the capital Nairobi. Rescue and recovery teams were dispatched to the site of the crash.

Ogolla was appointed by Ruto in April last year, after serving as the Commander of the Air Force and Deputy Chief of Defence Forces.

Ruto described Ogolla – Kenya’s highest-ranking military officer and the chief military adviser to the president – as a gallant officer who died in the line of duty.

The nation will observe three days of mourning, commencing on Friday 19 April. The flags in the Republic of Kenya and in Kenyan missions abroad will fly at half mast, Mr Ruto said. Nine others killed in the crash were senior military officers. The two survivors are in critical condition and undergoing treatment.

The officers had travelled to Kenya’s North Rift region, which has been plagued by banditry.

They were on a mission to reopen some of the schools closed following bandit attacks. They had also visited military officers deployed to stabilise the region.

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