According to the provincial transport minister, at least three persons have perished in a plane crash in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo‘s (DRC) South Kivu province, while another local official claims the death toll might be as high as five.
Officials stated on Thursday that the small passenger jet crashed near the village of Keisha, around 15 kilometers (9 miles) from the territorial headquarters town of Shabunda.
The Malu Aviation plane had taken off from Goma on its way to Shabunda in the South Kivu region, according to the Associated Press news agency.
At least three of the six individuals on board were murdered, according to provincial transport minister Mathieu Malumbi.
According to him, rescue teams were dispatched to the scene in order to locate survivors and determine the reason for the incident.
Shabunda’s administrator Kashombana Bin Sale told Reuters over the phone from the Shabunda airstrip, where the plane was supposed to land, that five persons were on board the flight, all of whom died in the disaster.
“We sent a team to the village of Keisha where we learned that the crash had taken place,” Sale said.
“On their return, they informed us that the plane was burned and that five people on board were dead.”
Dieudonne Kashombanya, the administrator of Shabunda, said they have launched an investigation to determine the cause of the crash.
“We sympathize with all the families of the people killed,” he said.
Malu Aviation, according to its website, provides cargo and charter flights throughout the region.
At least three have been killed in a DRC plane crash. Plane crashes are prevalent in the DRC, yet flights are generally considered safer than overland travel due to the presence of numerous armed groups in the region.
In 2019, a tiny plane crashed into a heavily populated area of Goma, killing at least 27 people.
