GOMA ( Halbeeg News) – At least 29 people have been killed when a small plane crashed after take-off into a densely populated area of the city of Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
One person aboard the plane survived the crash and was taken to hospital along with 16 others injured on the ground, the North Kivu regional government confirmed to the press.
“At this stage, 29 bodies have been found in the rubble,” the statement said.
The propeller plane, which was operated by local company Busy Bee, crashed shortly after take-off en route to the city of Beni, about 250 kilometers to the north, officials said.
The Busy Bee Dornier 228-200 was carrying 19 people, including 17 passengers and two crew members.
Busy Bee, a recently established company, has three planes serving routes in the North Kivu province.
The pilot “failed in his take-off”, the region’s governor Carly Nzanzu Kasivita said in a statement.
Air accidents are relatively frequent in the DRC because of lax safety standards and poor maintenance.
All of the country’s commercial carriers, including Busy Bee, are prohibited from operating in the European Union.
In October, a cargo plane also departing from the same airport crashed an hour after take-off, killing all eight passengers and crew.
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