Twenty-six people were missing and feared dead on Thursday after a plane crashed in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), an aviation official said.
The plane went missing shortly after takeoff on Wednesday and was found by United Nations helicopters on Wednesday night in the dense forests near Walungu, said Raymond Sangara, coordinator of the DRC’s civil aviation authority.
All 21 passengers aboard were Congolese traders, including women and children, said Sangara. The pilot was Russian and the four crew members were Ukrainian, he said.
There were no confirmed deaths, and a search for survivors was expected to begin soon, Sangara said.
The plane had lost contact with the radio tower three minutes after leaving the eastern town of Goma. It was bound for Kindu, about 390km south-west, but never arrived.
Walungu is about 120km south of Goma, and further east of the flight path. The town was the site of a recent massacre by area militia. — Sapa-AP