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30 Feared Dead As DR Congo Army Plane Crashes

30 Feared Dead As DR Congo Army Plane Crashes
  • PublishedSeptember 30, 2017

A military transport plane belonging to the Congolese army crashed near Kinshasa on Saturday, killing โ€œseveral dozenโ€ people, military and airport sources told AFP.

The Antonov transport plane had just taken off and had โ€œseveral dozen peopleโ€ on board, an airport source told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The plane went down in Nsele, about 100 kilometres (60 miles) to the east of Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the source said.

A local official in the area of the crash told AFP there were โ€œno survivorsโ€.

The plane, which had a Russian crew, was carrying โ€œtwo vehicles and weaponsโ€ and military personnel, a source at the armyโ€™s headquarters told AFP, also speaking on condition of anonymity.

He said there were โ€œbetween 20 and 30 peopleโ€ on board when it took off from Ndolo airport in Kinshasa.

A witness at the crash site told AFP he had seen the plane โ€œfallingโ€ out the sky shortly before 9:00 am but said there was no sign of any smoke coming from the aircraft.

AFP