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Scores die in freak air tragedy
More than 120 people are feared dead in the Democratic Republic of Congo after being sucked out of a cargo plane. Military officials are quoted as saying that the rear ramp of a plane became detached soon after it had taken off from the capital, Kinshasa, on an internal flight. The Defence Minister Irung Awan told reporters that he was unaware of any deaths, but airport sources told the BBC in Kinshasa that only the Russian crew members survived. The accident took place on Thursday night about 45 minutes after the plane took off. The plane had been chartered by the military and was flying from Kinshasa to Congo's second city, Lubumbashi. "The doors opened including the ramp as the pressure system broke down," a military official told Reuters news agency. "Everybody was sucked out." The Russian crew was able to turn the Ilyushin 76 around and land at Kinshasa airport following the incident. Additional from AP: Nine survivors were being treated for minor injuries and psychological trauma at Kinshasa General Hospital, said Kabamba Mbwebwe, chief doctor at the hospital's emergency ward. "They were traumatized and spoke of their baggage flying everywhere," Mbwebwe told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.
Posted by: Steve 2003-05-09 |
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