Kinshasa, DR Congo: At least 17 people, including two senior military officials, were killed after a plane crashed in Kenge in the southwestern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), according to Al Jazeera.
The plane was travelling from Kikwit to the capital Kinshasa on Friday when it developed a technical fault and attempted to land in Kenge, in Kwango province.
The aircraft crashed into a residential area in Kenge after no landing strip was available, Kwango Deputy Governor Remy Saki Bokinda told Al Jazeera. He said the plane caught fire after hitting the ground.
Bokinda later informed reporters that the death toll had risen from the initial figure of 13 to 17 after authorities recovered 16 adult bodies and the body of a baby once the fire at the wreckage was brought under control.
The Congolese army said two senior military officials were among those killed in the crash — Lieutenant General Joseph Mutombo, first president of the High Military Court, and Lieutenant General Lucien-Rene Likulia, the military's auditor general.
DR Congo President Felix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo expressed grief over the crash and said senior military officials were among those killed.
Tshisekedi ordered a thorough investigation to determine the exact circumstances and causes of the crash, while extending condolences to the families of the victims and the Armed Forces of the country.
In a post on X, the official account of the Presidency of the Democratic Republic of the Congo said Tshisekedi had ‘learned with profound sorrow’ of the crash and paid tribute to the victims and their service to the country. He also called on the Congolese people to observe a moment of reflection and unity.
