DRC plane crash kills 30

KINSHASA – A cargo plane crashed into a residential area of the Congolese capital Kinshasa yesterday and was consumed in flames, blocking rescue workers from reaching victims, the Red Cross said.

The Antonov 26 plunged into a market and homes on the outskirts of the city immediately after taking off yesterday morning, with reports saying about 30 people have been killed. “We have just evacuated three wounded people but as the fire continues we cannot enter.We can only watch,” said Dominique Lutula, head of the Congolese Red Cross Society.”A soon as the fire fighters extinguish the fire, we can enter and see how many deaths there are,” he said.SABC, the South African public broadcaster, said as many as 30 people had died, but this could not be confirmed.Russian news agency Itar-Tass said the plane, flown by a Russian crew, was en route to Chicapa in Kasai Occidental province and belonged to the company Africa 1.It said all people on board had been killed, quoting reports.”There are markets and nearby also houses, so there is a fear that casualty numbers may be a bit worrying,” said Wolde Gabriel Saugeron, spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Kinshasa.”Unfortunately they have so many old planes flying that almost every week we have a catastrophe in Congo,” said Saugeron.Congo’s aviation industry has one of the worst records for crashes, but many people rely on the transport to get around the vast country which has only 500km of paved road.Sapa-dpa”We have just evacuated three wounded people but as the fire continues we cannot enter.We can only watch,” said Dominique Lutula, head of the Congolese Red Cross Society.”A soon as the fire fighters extinguish the fire, we can enter and see how many deaths there are,” he said.SABC, the South African public broadcaster, said as many as 30 people had died, but this could not be confirmed.Russian news agency Itar-Tass said the plane, flown by a Russian crew, was en route to Chicapa in Kasai Occidental province and belonged to the company Africa 1.It said all people on board had been killed, quoting reports.”There are markets and nearby also houses, so there is a fear that casualty numbers may be a bit worrying,” said Wolde Gabriel Saugeron, spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Kinshasa.”Unfortunately they have so many old planes flying that almost every week we have a catastrophe in Congo,” said Saugeron.Congo’s aviation industry has one of the worst records for crashes, but many people rely on the transport to get around the vast country which has only 500km of paved road.Sapa-dpa