32 killed, 1 survives in UN plane crash in DRC
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The UN Security Council on Monday conveyed its "deepest condolences" to the UN and non-UN staff killed in a plane crash in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which left 32 people dead.
![Rescuers gather at N'Djili airport in Kinshasa on Monday. Around 32 people were killed in a plane crash on Monday afternoon in the capital city Kinshasa of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo). [Xinhua/Reuters]](http://images.china.cn/attachement/jpg/site1007/20110405/0014222d98500f04b92202.jpg "Rescuers gather at N'Djili airport in Kinshasa on Monday. Around 32 people were killed in a plane crash on Monday afternoon in the capital city Kinshasa of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo). [Xinhua/Reuters]") |
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Rescuers gather at N'Djili airport in Kinshasa on Monday. Around 32 people were killed in a plane crash on Monday afternoon in the capital city Kinshasa of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo). [Xinhua/Reuters] |
Nestor Osorio, the Colombian UN ambassador who holds the rotating Security Council presidency for April, made the statement to reporters here after closed consultations among 15 Council members.
"On behalf of the members of the Security Council, I would like to express our profound sorrow for the accident that occurred today in Kinchasa when a UN airplane missed the air-strip and crashed resulting in the deaths of 32 persons including both UN and non UN staff," he said.
"The members of the Security Council convey their deepest condolences to the families of the victims of this tragic accident, " he said.
The plane, which had been traveling from the north-eastern city of Kisangani, was attempting to land in heavy rain at N'Djili airport in Kinshasa when it crashed about 1 p.m. local time, the officials said.
Only one survived the plane crash, and he was hospitalized, Alain Le Roy, the UN under-secretary-general for peacekeeping operations, told reporters here.
There were 29 passengers and four crew members aboard the plane, Le Roy said.
It was a regular flight for the UN mission in DRC, known as MONUSCO, Le Roy said.
After the crash, MONUSCO has dispatched medical rescue teams to the crash site as well as an emergency team to gather information about the accident, UN officials said here.
MONUSCO consists of more than 19,000 uniformed peacekeepers to protect civilians in the conflict-torn country and monitor the implementation of an arms embargo.
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