Russian crew could have operated cargo plane that crashed in DR Congo
Baku, December 21, AZERTAC
According to unconfirmed information, three Russians operated an An-26 cargo plane that was delivering election materials to Kasai Province when it crashed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on Thursday, TASS reported, The fate of the pilots and the crash site are still unknown, Russian Ambassador to DR Congo Alexei Sentebov told TASS over the phone.
"According to unconfirmed information, 23 people were onboard the plane, including three crew members, Russian citizens," he said.
The crash occurred 35 km away from the capital Kinshasa when the plane was going to land. "Search and rescue operations continue, the crash site and the names and the fate of the pilots are being determined," the diplomat said.
Gomair, which owns the plane, has no information yet on the fate of the people onboard, TASS reported.
Agence France-Presse earlier reported the death of six people, including five crew members, citing the election commission. According to the election commission, the plane was returning to the capital after delivering election materials to the city of Tshikapa for the general election which is scheduled for December 30 in the country. Contact with the pilots was lost after they had flown back to Kinshasa on Thursday evening.
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