Plane crash in the city of Goma, MONUSCO comes to the rescue

6 Mar 2013

Plane crash in the city of Goma, MONUSCO comes to the rescue

Goma, 5 March 2013 – A Fokker 50 aircraft of the national airline company Compagnie Africaine d'Aviation (CAA) crashed Monday, 4 March, in the late afternoon, in a residential neighborhood of the city of Goma. MONUSCO immediately reacted with logistical support along with elements of the Formed Police Unit (FPU), members of the Nord Kivu Brigade, as well as fire-fighters, ambulances and medical doctors to assist the Congolese National Police Force (PNC) on the scene of the accident.

The Fokker 50 crashed while approaching Goma airport; it first hit an antenna belonging to the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO), then the roof of a house before crashing into a compound near the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI).

At the scene of the plane crash, police officers recovered five dead bodies and rescued three injured, who were immediately taken to the hospital. A CAA official said the passenger aircraft was used as a cargo plane, coming from the mining city of Lodja in Kasai Oriental with six passengers and three crew members on board.

The situation was chaotic on the scene, which was in total darkness. Both the PNC and MONUSCO rescue teams used flashlights to work around the wreckage. The peacekeepers and the national police cordoned the site throughout the night to keep back the crowds, which were growing in size.

Clara Padovan/ MONUSCO