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Plane crashes in DR Congo capital Seventeen die in DR Congo crash
(about 1 hour later)
A plane has crashed in the east of Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, officials say. A cargo plane has crashed into a busy market in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, killing at least 17 people, officials say.
The Antonov 26 cargo plane owned by the Congolese airline, Africa 1, came down in the Kingasani residential area near Ndili airport around 1030 (0930 GMT).The Antonov 26 cargo plane owned by the Congolese airline, Africa 1, came down in the Kingasani residential area near Ndili airport around 1030 (0930 GMT).
An airport official, Jean-Claude Bakongo, told the Reuters news agency that 17 people had been on board. A UN spokesman said he feared there were "many dead". He has sent a rescue team and firefighters to the crash.
Correspondents say air accidents are frequent in DR Congo, where many airlines fly ageing planes. Air accidents are frequent in DR Congo, where many airlines fly ageing planes.
According to the African Airlines Association, the country has accounted for well over half of all the air crashes in Africa over the last decade. According to the African Airlines Association, the country has accounted for well over half of all the air crashes in Africa over the last decade. One out of every five fatal air accidents happens in Africa.
A resident of Kingasani, Papy Kangufu, said the plane had crashed into a market in that had been full of people at the time. The area was full of smoke, he said. 'Many dead'
The Russian ITAR-Tass news agency has reported that the plane had a Russian crew and had been flying from Kinshasa to Chicapa. The cargo plane carrying at least 17 people had been en route to Tshikapa, a town in the south of the country, when it crashed, an airport official told the Associated Press.
It came down about 5km from Ndili international airport in the Kingasani market, Appo Ilunga said.
Antonov 28s are used extensively for transport in DR Congo
A local resident, Papy Kangufu, said the market had been full of people when the plane ploughed into it. The area was full of smoke, he added.
Another airport official who went to the crash site said at least four houses had been set alight and that everyone in the houses and the plane were likely to have been killed.
A spokesman for the United Nations mission in Congo (MONUC) also said he feared the death toll would rise.
"There are casualties, many dead, but I don't have any specifics," Maj Gabriel De Brosses told Reuters.
In 1996, more than 300 people were killed when an Antonov 32 aircraft ploughed into a busy market soon after taking off from an airport in Kinshasa.
Last year, the European Union banned all but one of the country's air companies, including Africa 1, from operating in Europe.