Kinshasa, Oct 30 (IANS) No crew member survived the crash of a military helicopter Wednesday in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), according to local media, citing the DRC’s Airway Authority (RVA).
According to military sources on the ground, the helicopter of the Armed Forces of the DRC (FARDC) crashed around 11 am, local time, on the runway of Ndolo Airport, the second airport in Kinshasa.
All three people on board, namely the pilot, the co-pilot and the technician, who were “expatriates,” died, according to local media, citing sources of the RVA, specifying that the pilot was strapped by his seatbelt in the aircraft and died on the spot.
The other two crew members died on their way to a local hospital, according to RVA sources, which was also confirmed by General Fae Ngama, a commander of the FARDC, to the Congolese Press Agency, DRC’s official media outlet.
Christophe Lomami, mayor of the Barumbu commune where the airport is located, confirmed this tragedy, noting that the causes of the accident remain unknown, Xinhua news agency reported.
The FARDC has not yet communicated on this incident.
–IANS
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