Cargo Plane Scheduled To Deliver Election Materials Crashes In Congo

Cargo Plane Scheduled To Deliver Election Materials Crashes In Congo

The Congolese aviation firm Gomair has confirmed that its cargo plane
which went missing on Thursday after delivering materials for an
upcoming presidential election had crashed.  

Gomair’s financial director, Jean de Dieu Gato Karekezi said he’s yet
to have any information about casualties. The firm lost contact with
the plane on Thursday evening as it was flying back to Kinshasa after
delivering materials to Tshikapa, a city near the border with Angola.
 It was not immediately clear how many people were on board.

Karekezi said the plane had been rented by the national electoral
commission (CENI) to deliver election materials.  A CENI spokeswoman
said the agent who had taken the flight to Tshikapa had stayed there,
but she did not provide any further information.

 The incident follows a tumultuous week in Democratic Republic of
Congo, which has seen the long-anticipated election postponed for a week
due to logistical issues, clashes between protesters and police, and
the deaths of over 100 people in fights between ethnic groups in the
northwest.