4 crew dead in DRC plane crash

2006-07-08 17:14

Kinshasa - Three Russian crew members and one Congolese were killed when a cargo plane crashed in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, said an official on Saturday.

The Russian-made Antonov-12 aircraft, which is widely used in the DRC, went down during a flight from the eastern border town of Goma to Kisangani on Friday.

"The plane crashed on Friday afternoon at about 16:00," said Paluku Acille, a senior civil aviation official in the DRC's North Kivu province.

"We don't know exactly what happened but four crew members were killed when the plane hit a hill."

Acille said rescuers had found the plane completely destroyed and the bodies of the three Russian and one Congolese crew badly burnt. No other people were on board.

Friday's accident was the latest in a spate of air crashes in the vast central African country over the last year.

Last month, the International Air Transport Association called the air safety records of several African countries, including the DRC, an "embarrassment" to the industry.

In March, the European Union banned all but one of the 51 carriers operating in the DRC from flying in Europe.

The DRC government has since tried to improve air safety by grounding some airlines and regulating the amount of cargo that can be carried.

- Reuters