The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has declared three days of national mourning following a fatal plane crash in Kwango province that killed 17 people, including two senior military generals.
The aircraft, traveling from Kikwit to Kinshasa, suffered a severe technical fault before attempting an emergency landing and crashing into a residential area in Kenge. Among the deceased were Lieutenant General Joseph Mutombo Katalayi Tiende, President of the High Military Court, and Lieutenant General Lucien-René Likulia Bakumi, the Army’s Auditor general.
The tragedy coincides with news of another disaster in eastern DRC, where at least 12 people died after a passenger and cargo vessel capsized on Lake Kivu near Idjwi Island. Transport authorities have suspended the operating certificate of the air carrier involved pending a full safety investigation.
–ChannelAfrica–
