KINSHASA, Congo — A humanitarian aid flight carrying 17 people crashed while trying to land in a storm in eastern Congo, and all aboard were feared dead Tuesday.
U.N. helicopters found the crash site, about 9 miles from the plane’s destination near the Rwanda border, but rugged terrain prevented peacekeepers from landing Tuesday to learn the fate of those on board, said U.N. deputy spokeswoman Marie Okabe.
Air Serv International, the Warrenton, Va.-based aid group that runs the twice- weekly aid delivery between Kisangani and Bukavu, said helicopter surveys suggested everyone on board was killed.
The 21-seat Beechcraft 1900 aircraft went missing late Monday with two crew and 15 passengers, a spokeswoman for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said. It was found Tuesday morning, Elisabeth Byrs told journalists in Geneva.
