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Kinshasa - Eleven people were killed and one survived when an Antonov 26 plane crashed while preparing to land in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of Congo, UN-sponsored radio reported on Thursday.

Twelve people were aboard the aircraft, including six crew members, when the plane crashed Wednesday near Lubutu, about 130km from Kisangani, Okapi radio said.

There was only one survivor, it said.

The plane had been chartered by the private company Kisangani Airlines List. - Sapa-AFP

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11 killed in DRC plane crash

05/05/2005 12:38 - (SA)

Kinshasa - Eleven people were killed and only one survived when an Antonov 26 plane crashed while preparing to land in the northeast Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) city of Kisangani, Okapi, a United Nations-sponsored radio station reported on Thursday.

Twelve people were aboard the aircraft, including six crew members, when the plane crashed on Wednesday near Lubutu, some 130 kilometres from the DRC's third largest city Kisangani, said Okapi.

The plane had been chartered by the private company, Kisangani Airlines List.

A KAL official said the plane had taken off from Kisangani's Bangboka airport early on Wednesday afternoon, heading for Isiro.

It could not land in Isiro for unknown reasons and headed back towards Kisangani. The plane "hit a tree" before crashing, the KAL official said.

Kisangani lies in a bend of the River Congo in a densely forested region.

DRC aviation authorities said they were aware of the accident, but were unable to give further details.

Plane crashes are fairly frequent in the DRC, where many runways are badly marked and planes are often overloaded.

An Antonov 26 crashed in November 2003, killing 33 people, in the northern Equateur Province. The plane was overloaded and could not take off, crashing into a small marketplace near the runway.

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Plane crashes are fairly frequent in the DRC, where many runways are badly marked and planes are often overloaded.

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