A plane crash in the Democratic Republic of Congo has killed 38
people and injured another 30 according to a new toll from the
ministry of humanitarian affairs.
"This plane had on board, as well as the three crew members, 20
passengers who all died," the ministry said in a statement.
On the ground, 15 other people were killed and 30 injured when
the Antonov 26 belonging to Congolese airline Africa 1 crashed into
a crowded district of eastern Kinshasa, the statement said.
The plane hit several houses in the heavily-populated
neighbourhood of Kimbaseke, near the Ndjili international airport
from which it had just taken off.
The UN mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo said earlier
that 25 people were killed in the crash.
Civil aviation authorities had said 19 people were reported to
be on board, while police reported nobody had survived the crash
and fire but officials said planes often gave incorrect passenger
manifests to avoid paying taxes.
Airport protocol official Jean-Claude Bakongo said he "saw it
fall in the Kingasani neighbourhood" and a major explosion followed
the crash.
Another airport security official who went to the crash site
said firefighters were struggling to reach the wreckage in the
shanty town.
"There are at least four houses burning, the airplane is burning
... There's a lot of smoke and flames, everybody in the houses must
be dead," he said.
Air travel is notoriously dangerous in Congo. Ageing planes
suffer from a lack of maintenance and spare parts but they are
often the only way to transport people and goods across the vast
African country.
Eight people were killed in early September when a cargo plane
overshot the runway and caught fire while landing in the eastern
Congolese town of Goma.
(Agencies via CRI.cn October 5, 2007)
