At least nine people died when an airliner hit a busy residential area while attempting to take off in Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
At least 21 people have died after a plane hit a busy residential area while attempting to take off in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The plane skidded off the runway in rain, smashing through a wall and breaking up. Most of the 85 people aboard survived but many were injured.
It is unclear whether the victims were travelling on the plane or on the ground at the time of the crash.
Early reports spoke of dozens of bodies at the scene and it is unclear how many people were hurt on the ground.
The DC-9 skidded off the runway in the eastern city of Goma during heavy rain, smashed through a wall and broke up.
The DC-9 was chartered by private airline Hewa Bora.
The plane, which had 79 passengers and six crew on board, was chartered by the private airline Hewa Bora.
It had been en route to Kisangani in central DR Congo.
Last week, the European Union added the carrier to its blacklist of airlines banned from flying in the EU.
DR Congo has one of the world's poorest air safety records with eight crashes in 2007, Reuters news agency notes.
The plane had been en route to Kisangani in central DR Congo, a country with one of the world's poorest air safety records.
A third of the runway at Goma's airport was affected by a lava flow from a volcanic eruption that occurred there six years ago.
A third of the runway at Goma's airport was affected by a lava flow from a volcanic eruption in 2002, making it a particularly difficult spot for take-off, according to local aviation industry sources.
This makes Goma a particularly difficult spot for take-off, local sources in the aviation industry say.
Buckets of water
Buckets of water
Nine people were killed as a result of the crash, United Nations staff and regional governor Julien Mpaluku said.
UN staff who visited two local hospitals in Goma found 55 injured passengers, six of them in a serious condition.
UN staff who visited two local hospitals found 55 injured plane passengers, six of them in a serious condition.
Reports say the plane never really left the ground and most of those on board were able to escape the craft before a fire took hold.
Reports say the plane never really left the ground and most passengers were able to escape after the crash, before fire took hold.
"We have managed to save most of the passengers who have been evacuated to hospitals," Dirk Cramers, a director of the airline, told Reuters.
"We have managed to save most of the passengers who have been evacuated to hospitals," Dirk Cramers, a director of the airline airline, told Reuters. All crew members also survived.
One of the survivors said he heard an explosion as the plane was accelerating for take-off, and he believed one of the plane's tyres had exploded, reports the BBC's Arnaud Zajtman.
It is still unclear if any of those killed were on the ground in the densely populated Birere district at the time.
A plume of black smoke rose above the crash-site in Goma's densely populated Birere district, which is home to small shops and restaurants.
A plume of black smoke rose above the area which is home to small shops and restaurants.
People used buckets of water to put out the fire and UN personnel helped keep back the crowds.
People used buckets of water to put out the fire and UN personnel helped keep back the crowds.
Some bodies may be still under the wreckage of the plane, which hit buildings in Birere, Goma's densely populated business district, the BBC's Arnaud Zajtman reports.
Doctors' strike
Doctors' strike
British MP Eric Joyce, who heads the Commons all-party group on the Great Lakes region of Africa, witnessed the scenes at a hospital about a mile from the crash site.
British MP Eric Joyce, who heads the Commons all-party group on the Great Lakes region of Africa, witnessed the scenes at a hospital about a mile from the crash site.
"The injuries seem to be primarily people on the aircraft but it's very hard to tell," he told the BBC.
"The injuries seem to be primarily people on the aircraft but it's very hard to tell," he told the BBC.
"Certainly a lot of people around here have been affected, there are lots of relatives and casualties coming in.
"Certainly a lot of people around here have been affected, there are lots of relatives and casualties coming in.
"The problem appears to be that there aren't enough vehicles to get everyone out."
"The problem appears to be that there aren't enough vehicles to get everyone out."
Mr Joyce added doctors in the city had been holding a strike on Tuesday
Mr Joyce added doctors in the city had been holding a strike on Tuesday.
"So I think doctors will be making their way to the hospitals but at the moment but they may not have all been in the hospitals when this crash took place," he said.
"I think doctors will be making their way to the hospitals at the moment but they may not have all been in the hospitals when this crash took place," he said.
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