/ 3 March 2000

PLANE MISSING IN BOTSWANA

A CESSNA 414 light aircraft carrying five people, including South Africans, has been missing over Botswana since Wednesday. Three Botswana Defence Force and two civilian aircraft have been searching for the plane since it failed to arrive at its destination, the northern town of Maun, on Wednesday. The eight-seater light twin-engine aircraft, carrying five passengers, left the Sir Seretse Khama International Airport in Gaborone at midday on Wednesday. The pilot apparently radioed Gaborone on Wednesday afternoon saying the plane was leaking oil. The passengers included executives of the Skynet WorldWide Express courier service, who were going to Maun to establish a branch there.