Thirty-two people have been killed and one person survived when a United Nations plane crashed in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo,\u00a0a UN spokesperson has said, reports Al-Jazeera English.<\/p>\n
“We can confirm only one survivor out of the 33 people on board the … plane,” Farhan Haq said.<\/p>\n
The plane crashed on Monday while attempting to land at the airport serving the capital city.<\/p>\n
It was one of the worst disasters ever involving UN transport. Twenty UN workers were listed as on board the flight.<\/p>\n
The plane was carrying UN officials and peacekeepers travelling from the\u00a0northeastern city of Kisangani to Kinshasa’s N’Djili airport, according to a statement from the UN mission known as MONUSCO.<\/p>\n
The world body earlier said both Congolese and foreign nationals were on board the plane.<\/p>\n
The operator of the plane, Georgian flag carrier Airzena Georgian Airways, said the crew was Georgian.<\/p>\n
There were strong winds blowing at the time of the crash.<\/p>\n
A UN source in Kinshasa, who asked not to be named, told the Reuters news agency, “The plane landed heavily, broke into two and caught fire.”<\/p>\n
A Reuters correspondent at the airport said the plane was completely destroyed and the wreckage was lying at the end of the runway.<\/p>\n
The UN has a fleet of more than a dozen planes in the country with which\u00a0the mission transports its personnel, journalists and staff of international and local non-governmental organizations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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