At least 36 killed in Eastern Congo’s passenger plane crash

At least 36 people were killed after a twin-propelled passenger aircraft crashed upon landing in the Democratic Republic of Congo's eastern city of Goma, the Guardian reported on Tuesday.

The aircraft, a Fokker 50 plane belonging to the local CAA company, was en route from the central mining town of Lodja, when it plunged in heavy rainfall before landing in Goma.

The plane was carrying cargo and did not have the full capacity of 50 passengers, the Guardian reported citing government officials.
Al Jazeera reported that three survivors in the crash were taken to a local hospital, but it was not clear how many passengers were on board of the aircraft.

A spokesman for the Russian Consulate General in Congo said there was no information whether Russian nationals were killed or hurt in the accident.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo has a poor air safety record and all of its roughly 50 airlines are blacklisted by the European Union that banned them from EU’s airspace.