South African consular officials are trying to verify the identity of a 23-year-old pilot killed in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), with a view to returning his remains to South Africa, the Department of Foreign Affairs said on Wednesday.
Rudi Knoetze was flying a humanitarian aid plane that crashed into a mountain in the DRC after losing contact with the control tower during a violent storm on Monday.
Foreign affairs spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa said in a statement that South Africa’s diplomatic mission in Kinshasa was in liaison with officers of the United Nations mission in the DRC (Monuc).
”At this stage, we understand that Monuc officers are visiting the crash site, whereafter the South African mission will be advised of the level of assistance required,” he said.
”The South African government extends its heartfelt condolences to all those families who lost their loved ones during this tragedy, and in particular, the family of the deceased pilot.”
Knoetze was among 17 people who died in the crash.
About 40 UN peacekeepers started hiking to the site of the crash on Wednesday after heavy fog hampered a helicopter search, reported the Associated Press.
A helicopter spotted the wreckage of the Beechcraft 1900C, chartered by Air Serv, on Tuesday about 15km from Bukavu.
It crashed on a flight from Kinshasa to Mbandaka, Kisangani and Bukavu.
According to news agency Agence France-Presse, the victims included a Canadian member of the UN Development Programme, an Indian employed by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Aid, a French national and a national of neighbouring Congo who worked for Paris-based Médecins sans Frontières. — Sapa