Fokker 50 crashes in Congo - death toll rising

A Congo-based airliner has crashed on approach to Goma Airport in the eastern part of the country.
Time Aerospace thumbnail
There are varying reports on the death toll ranging “at least” to 36. The 50-seater twin prop was believed to have had a lot of cargo onboard and so was unlikely to have had a full complement of passengers. There are reportedly at least three survivors.
The Fokker 50 is operated by Compagnie Africaine d´Aviation (CAA), and crashed in heavy rain yesterday.
The flight was arriving from the town of Lodja, some 440 miles (700km) to the west in Kasai-Oriental province.
A government spokesman said: "For the moment we have counted nine dead, passengers and crew. No one on the ground was killed. The plane fell in an empty space, and because of the rain, no one was around. It was really lucky."
The Democratic Republic of the Congo has one of the worst air safety records in the world, and along with Sudan, has been blamed for Africa’s poor safety statistics.
There have been numerous crashes in Goma, the main eastern city where pilots regularly complain about  the runway which has not been fully repaired after a volcanic eruption in 2002 left it covered in lava.
Pictured: The CAA Fokker 50 (c) CAA