A cargo plane owned by a private company crashed Friday near the airport in Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of Congo, killing at least three people, officials said. There are conflicting reports as to the number of people killed ranging from at least 3 up to 30.
The Soviet-made Ilyushin-76 belonged to Trans Air Congo and appeared to be transporting merchandise, not people, said an aviation official who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
The plane was coming from Congo's second-largest city, Pointe Noire, and tried to land during heavy rain, he said.
Ambulances rushed to the scene in the Makazou neighbourhood, located near the airport, but emergency workers were hampered by the lack of light in this capital, which like so many in Africa has a chronic shortage of electricity.
"At the moment, my team is having a hard time searching for survivors in order to find the victims of the crash because there is no light and also because of the rain," Congolese Red Cross head Albert Mberi said.
He said that realistically, they will only be able to launch a proper search Saturday, when the sun comes up.
Reporters at the scene fought through a wall of smoke. Despite the darkness, they could make out the smouldering remains of the plane, including what looked like the left wing of the aircraft. A little bit further on, emergency workers identified the body of the plane's Ukrainian pilot, and covered the corpse in a blanket.
Firefighters were trying to extinguish the blaze of a part of the plane that had fallen into a ravine. They were using their truck lights to try to illuminate the scene of the crash. Although the plane was carrying merchandise, emergency workers fear that there could be more people on board.
Because of the state of the road connecting Pointe Noire to Brazzaville, many traders prefer to fly the roughly 400 kilometres (250 miles).
Witnesses said rain was coming down hard at the time of the accident, according to news site G1. The plane appeared to be unable to brake and ran off the runway, destroying around 15 houses and a bar before hitting a ravine and catching on fire. Firefighters continued to search for victims two hours after the crash.
Africa has one of the worst air safety records in the world, note the AP. In June, a Boeing 727 cargo plane in Ghana slammed into a bus while attempting to land, killing all 10 people inside. A commercial jetliner crashed in Lagos, Nigeria, only days later, killing 153 people.
Friday 30 November 2012
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/Official+Sovietmade+cargo+plane+crashes+Republic+Congo/7634350/story.html
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