At least 14 people, including 2 senior military officials, were killed in a devastating plane crash in Congo on Friday. 

The authorities identified two military officials as Lieutenant General Mutombo Katalayi Tiende, head of the military court, and Lieutenant General Bakumi Likulia, auditor general of the armed forces, the Associated Press reported.

“In addition to the two general officers, twelve members of the delegation and the crew members also lost their lives in this accident,” Major General Efomi Ekenge, spokesperson of the Congolese military, said in a statement.

The military maintained that the plane was returning to the capital city of Kinshasa from southwestern Kikwit when it developed a technical fault and crashed in Kenge, where everyone on board died. An investigation has been opened to determine the cause of the accident, Ekenge said.

Meanwhile, Tryphon Kin-Kiey Mulumba, Chairman of the Board of the Civil Aviation Authority, said the cause of the crash is unknown. It is pertinent to note that the Congolese military has been battling scores of rebel groups, including the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group in the eastern region since last year, after a blitz of attacks that led to the rebel groups seizing key cities.

'No landing strip available'

Remy Saki Bokinda, the province's vice governor, told Reuters: "With no landing strip available in Kenge, the plane crashed into a residential plot." Videos circulating online showed people rushing to the burning plane, with thick smoke billowing into the air from the hillside.

In a separate clip, the dead body of the pilot was carried away on a stretcher. Twelve people were ‘burned beyond recognition,’ while the pilot was discovered outside the aircraft, Bokinda told Reuters. An investigation into the crash has been launched by the government aviation accident body.

Deadly aviation accidents are not uncommon in DR Congo, the second-largest African country, where distances are long, and roads are in poor condition.

The country has featured high on the list of countries facing the most aviation accidents in the past, despite accounting for only 0.1 per cent of global air traffic.

Source: Firstpost

--Agencies