Plane crash in Congo kills at least 70

April 16, 2008

In Goma, on the eastern side of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), at least 70 people, according to officials, have died because when a McDonnell Douglas DC-9 crashed on take off yesterday.

VOA has reported that as many as 100 people could have been on board the plane at the time of its crash.

A director of Hewa Bora Airways, the airline involved in the incident said that "we [the airline] have managed to save most of the passengers who have been evacuated to hospitals."

Naomi Schwarz, a journalist on the scene described the incident. "The whole top of the plane is ripped off and the two buildings next door are pretty much destroyed too. People are carrying buckets full of water to try to put out the fire. Just buckets they found on the streets," she said.

As of 08:00 UTC, the majority of the Hewa Bora website was not available.