An Antonov-26 plane crashed in northwestern Congo shortly after take-off last night, killing
all 22 Congolese passengers and the crew, officials said.
It was not known how many crew members were on the plane
when it crashed near the town of Boende, more than 600 km (375
miles) northeast of the capital Kinshasa, Information Minister Mr
Vital Kamerhe said. The cause of the crash was unknown.
"The passengers were Congolese. The crew included Congolese,
but as this was an Antonov the pilots may well have been
Russian. But I need to check," said Kamerhe.
"Right after take-off from Boende, there was a problem and
the plane crashed, killing all 22 passengers and the staff on
board," he said, adding he did not know who owned the plane.
Kamerhe said a team of government experts would be sent to
Boende on Sunday to search for the plane's black box.
A string of accidents this week has underlined the parlous
state of Democratic Republic of Congo's transport infrastructure
after five years of war and decades of misrule.
More than 160 people drowned when a ferry sank during a
storm on Lake Mai-Ndombe, northeast of Kinshasa, on Tuesday.
On Saturday, 18 people were killed or injured when a small
truck experienced brake trouble and crashed near the eastern
town of Goma, Kamerhe said.