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.

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