UN plane crashes in Congo, 32 dead

Fears are growing for the fate of more than 30 people on board a United Nations plane which has crashed today as it attempted to land at the main civilian airport in the capital of the Democratic Repu

Fears are growing for the fate of more than 30 people on board a United Nations plane which has crashed today as it attempted to land at the main civilian airport in the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

The plane had been travelling from the north-eastern city of Kisangani and was trying to land in Kinshasa, according to Pelle Kipela Mondo, deputy editor-in-chief of Radio Okapi, which is co-managed by the UN peacekeeping mission in the DRC (known as MONUSCO).

He told the UN News Centre that the plane was thought to be carrying 29 passengers. Four crew members are also believed to have been on board.

Media reports indicate that the crash occurred about 1 p.m. local time and that there was torrential rain in Kinshasa at the time.

Mr. Kipela Mondo said MONUSCO staff are now at the scene to help with possible rescue efforts and to investigate the cause of the accident.

Updated at 4:49 p.m. ET – Thirty-two people died and just one survived when a United Nations plane crashed in the Congo on Monday, a U.N. spokesman said in New York.

The plane was trying to land in Kinshasa when the crash happened, and it was raining at the time, an official said.

The aircraft, which took off from Goma, belonged to the U.N. mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to a Congo Transportation Ministry official.

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Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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