NAIROBI, May 30 (Xinhua) -- Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) said Wednesday its security officers gunned down three poachers in Mt. Elgon National Park in Trans-Nzoia County, northwest Kenya.

KWS spokesman Paul Gathitu said officers were on routine patrol inside the Park when they encountered five poachers, two of whom were armed.

"An exchange of fire between the KWS team and the poachers resulted in three of the poachers being shot dead. The two poachers who were armed managed to escape with injuries," Gathitu said in a statement issued in Nairobi.

The KWS spokesman said its team recovered various paraphernalia commonly used by poachers from the scene of the incident.

Kenya remains a poaching hotspot in Africa despite widespread campaign by conservationists to condemn the menace that is to blame for loss of millions of dollars and ecosystems disruption. Enditem