1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites

Small airliner crashes into homes in DR Congo

November 24, 2019

A plane reportedly carrying 19 passengers and crew has crashed in a suburb of Goma in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). It was taking off on a flight to Beni, said regional authorities.

Residents watch as plane crashes in Goma
Image: AFP/P. Tulizo

The operator of the twin-engine Dornier-228 aircraft, the local airline Busy Bee, said the flight had 17 passengers and two crew members on board. 

The 19 people on board were among the at least 26 to die in the incident, authorities said on Sunday.

The crash site was among residential homes near Goma's international airport.

The Congolese media outlet actualite.cd said the airline regularly ran medical evacuations in remote areas of eastern DRC.

Fire tenders of Goma city and the UN peacekeeping mission MONUSCO were at the scene of the crash, said actualite.cd.

Sunday's flight was bound for Beni, 350 kilometers (220 miles) north of Goma.

Goma, November 24: The aircraft crashed among housing near Goma's airportImage: AFP/D. Kamathe

In October, a cargo plane operating from Goma bound for Kinshasa crashed an hour after takeoff in Congo's central province of Sankuru, killing all eight passengers and crew.

On its catalog of airlines banned from operating in Europe, the European Union lists 21 Congolese airlines, including Busy Bee.

ipj/ng (Reuters, AFP; AP)

Skip next section Explore more
Skip next section DW's Top Story

DW's Top Story

Skip next section More stories from DW