A drone flying over Kinshasa as part of EU efforts to keep Congo's historic elections safe has crashed, setting a house on fire and injuring five people, European military sources said.
It was a setback for the European Union military force, EUFOR, that was deployed in the central African state with great fanfare to protect civilians during Sunday's vote.
The unmanned Belgian craft was flying its first reconnaissance mission over the capital when it crashed into the house yesterday. The five injured people were suffering burns.
EUFOR said it had lost contact with its remote handler.
"This drone flying over Kinshasa for a first technical flight is intended to take photographs and is not armed," the force said in a statement.
Some 2,000 EU troops based in Kinshasa and Libreville in nearby Gabon are on standby to back up 17,000 UN peacekeepers already deployed across the vast, former Belgian colony.
On Thursday, low-flying flights by two French Mirage jets had stoked already simmering political tensions in the riverside capital ahead of the Democratic Republic of Congo's first multi-party elections in 40 years.
Their over-flight coincided with the outbreak of a big fire which destroyed part of the compound of a presidential candidate and former rebel leader, Jean-Pierre Bemba.
The unexplained blaze killed two children and some of Mr Bemba's bodyguards accused the jets of bombing the building, a charge EUFOR denied.
Angry Bemba supporters went on the rampage, looting a church and torching several buildings. Three police, two soldiers and a civilian were killed in the disturbances, raising fears that violence could disrupt voting.