17 KILLED AS PLANE CRASHES IN DR CONGO, SENIOR MILITARY OFFICIALS AMONG DEAD
Seventeen people have been killed after a passenger plane crashed near Kenge in Kwango Province in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Let L-410 aircraft, operated by TRACEP Congo Aviation, was reportedly travelling from Kikwit to Kinshasa when it developed a technical problem and crashed while attempting an emergency landing. The aircraft caught fire following the crash, leaving no survivors.
Among the victims were Lieutenant-General Joseph Mutombo Katalayi, President of the High Military Court, and Lieutenant-General Lucien-René Likulia Bakumi, Auditor General of the Congolese Armed Forces.
Following the tragedy, Transport Minister Jean-Pierre Bemba suspended TRACEP Congo Aviation’s operating certificate and grounded its aircraft pending investigations.
Authorities have opened investigations to establish the exact cause of the crash.