Authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) say 12 people have died after a military cargo aircraft crashed shortly after taking off from the capital Kinshasa.
Lambert Mende, a government spokesperson, confirmed the reports of the crash on Saturday of the Antonov cargo plane after take-off from Kinshasa's Ndjili International Airport, based on reports from airport officials.
"I confirm that a military aircraft crashed this morning," Crispin Atama Tabe, DRC's defence minister, said. "All 12 members of the crew died."
Local news media reported initially that at least 10 people were on the plane bound for Bukavu in DRC's east when it crashed in Nasilah, about 100 metres from the centre of Kinshasa.
An agent at the DRC's aviation agency confirmed that the plane was an Antonov 12 destined for Bukavu.
"The military cargo plane crashed around 7:30am, a few minutes after taking off from the airport," Georges Tabora, director of Ndjili International Airport, said in a statement.
The aircraft experienced a technical problem shortly after take-off and lost radio contact with the control tower, Tabora said, adding that all crew members aboard died in the incident.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Did you enjoyed this article ? Feel free to drop your comments