One dead in DRC plane crash

2006-10-05 19:20

Kinshasa - A Belgian unmanned aircraft (UAV) crashed in Kinshasa when its forward and rear engines cut out for unknown reasons just after taking off, said an officer from the European Union force in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Thursday.

One person was killed and three are suffering from burns after the UAV burst into flames when it hit the ground, according to the latest report by Eufor.

The unmanned, remote-controlled aircraft equipped with cameras fell on Boulevard Triomphal, near Kinshasa's main stadium about one kilometre from the Ndolo air base where Eufor headquarters are.

"The aircraft had just taken off when its two engines cut out.

Belgian Lieutenant-Colonel Yves Vermeer, the head of the Eufor UAV unit said: "It continued to rise, then glided before falling towards the boulevard."

"It is too soon to give reasons as to why the engines cut out," he added, but said that it was "unlikely" to have been shot down.

Another UAV lost

On July 28, two days before the first round of the presidential election in the DRC, another UAV was lost when it was shot down over the capital by small-calibre gunfire, injuring eight people.

That one was replaced, so Eufor now has three UAVs left, all provided by the Belgian armed forces, together with light-armoured vehicles, and combat and transport helicopters.

The EU force is made up of about 2 300 soldiers drawn from 20 member states plus Turkey with 1 100 based in Kinshasa and 1 200 backing up in Gabon.

They are there until November 30 to provide security for the presidential and legislative elections in the DRC.

While waiting "to discover the exact causes of the accident, Eufor has suspended all UAV flights," said its spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Thierry Fusalba.

A team of Belgian investigators began their technical enquiry into the accident on Thursday.

Rivals facing off in run-off poll

A judicial enquiry will also open at a Belgian federal court to see if human error caused the accident, said Vermeer.

Eufor expressed its regrets after Tuesday's accident and has taken charge of all expenses for the victims' families, said the spokesman.

He added that the UAVs " which enable us to have a clear view of troop and tank movements, to observe the city's outskirts were very useful at the end of August."

On August 21 Eufor intervened militarily in Kinshasa when fighting broke out between troops loyal to President Joseph Kabila and those loyal to vice-president Jean-Pierre Bemba, the two rivals facing off in the second round of presidential elections set for October 29.

- SAPA