A humanitarian plane carrying 17 passengers and crew that was reported missing in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has crashed into a mountain, a United Nations official said on Tuesday.
”So far the [rescue] helicopter hasn’t been able to land. So we still don’t know if there are any survivors,” the official, who asked not to be named, said.
Rescuers early on Tuesday spotted the wreckage of the 19-seat Beechcraft aircraft about 15km north-west of the town of Bukavu, on DRC’s eastern border with Rwanda.
The plane had been on its way from the city of Kisangani to Bukavu on Monday when it lost contact with ground control as it approached for landing at about 12pm GMT.
There was no immediate information about who was travelling on the plane, which was operating under a contract with Air Serv, a United States-based organisation. — Reuters