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Plane crash kills seven in Congo

26 August 2009 17:01 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Five Russian crew members and two Congolese passengers died Wednesday when an Antonov 12 cargo plane crashed near the capital Brazzaville, Congo Republic’s ministry of transport said, Reuters reported.
The plane had taken off from Pointe Noire, the country’s economic capital, at 0500 GMT and crashed an hour later about 20 km (12.5 miles) south of its destination, Brazzaville, Transport Minister Emile Ouosso told journalists Wednesday.
"We have been to the site and we found that the 5 Russian crew members died, as well as two Congolese who were not on the manifest," Ouosso said.
The minister could not give any further details on the reason for the crash but investigators had been sent to the scene. Officials were also trying to confirm if there were any other passengers onboard.
Many in Central Africa rely on Antonov aircraft to travel around the region due to the lack of roads but crashes are frequent due aging planes and the lack of maintenance.
In 2007, Congo’s government banned passengers from traveling on Antonovs but the Antonov 12 cargo aircraft are still allowed to ferry goods the 500 km between Brazzaville and Pointe Noire.