Two-time Kenyan Olympic champion and 800m World Record holder David Rudisha said Monday he was grateful to be alive after surviving a plane crash on the weekend in southern Kenya.
Rudisha among others on the light aircraft were enroute to Nairobi after attending the "Maasai Olympics" — a series of sporting competitions involving Maasai youth, in Kajiado.
According to reports, the aircraft he was travelling in encountered trouble and was forced to make an emergency landing.
"It was a scary episode where you hold your heart in your hand as you pray to God," Rudisha, the patron of the Maasai Olympics told The Nation newspaper.
"The pilot did an incredible job to keep the plane afloat and stable for long. We thank God we all came out alive," he added.
The 33-year-old is a sponsor of the "Maasai Olympics", which was established a decade ago by community leaders and conservation group Big Life Foundation.
The goal is to help preserve the lion population and replace the traditional Maasai rite of hunting the big cats with sporting contests.
"One of the passengers was injured and is being treated at hospital," the conservation charity said in a statement released late Saturday.
"The others, including Mr. Rudisha, who is the patron of the Maasai Olympics, suffered no significant physical injuries," it added.
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