40 Dead, 111 Wounded in DR Congo Plane Crash: Hospital Sources

Tuesday’s plane crash in Goma in eastern DR Congo killed 40 people and wounded 111, Governor Julien Paluku quoted hospital sources on Thursday.

While the causes of the accident were still being investigated on Thursday, a controversy erupted between the Airways Authority (RVA) and Congolese airlines Hewa Bora Airway (HBA), the owner of the crashed airliner.

The airliner had 79 passengers and 6 crew members on board.

HBA which is banned for several weeks in Belgium, attributes the disaster to weather conditions and the slippery condition of the runway.

But RVA blames a technical failure leading to an explosion of the DC 9 while the plane was about to take off.

However, the black box will help make progress in the enquiry into the crash as ordered by President Joseph Kabila.

Meanwhile, Congolese opposition Congo Liberation Movement (MLC) of Jean-Pierre Bemba blames the lack of a government policy to sanitize the aviation sector.

The party has called for a serious enquiry to bring to book those responsible for the crash.

Source African Press Agency

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