Goma (DRCongo): Rescue workers have recovered 21 bodies from the crash site in DR Congo where a passenger plane smashed into a crowded market on take-off, the chairman of the airline said. But they have so far been unable to establish if any of the plane's passengers were among the victims, or if all those killed were among those on the ground at the time of the crash.

The DC-9 jet crashed into the Birere market area of Goma, the capital of the eastern province of Nord-Kivu yesterday and burst into flames. "There are 21 confirmed dead, whose bodies have been recovered and taken to the morgue, but it's not possible at the moment to say if any of these are passengers," said Stavros Papaioannou of Hewa Bora Airlines. "There were 85 people on board: 79 passengers and six members of crew. The crew are all fine. We are trying to contact all the passengers. So far, we have contacted 53 of them, who are all right," he added.

At least 70 injured have already been admitted to hospital in Goma, most of them local residents, according to a hospital official. Earlier, various airport sources had reported "dozens" dead in the disaster, which saw the plane crash-land into houses and a market not far from the end of the runway before bursting into flames. The plane was destined for the capital Kinshasa, but it was not clear how many passengers had already disembarked at Goma. The original passenger list had 152 names on it, but many of these had got off before the crash, according to Thomas Okelo of the National Air Traffic Authority RVA in Goma.

Source : PTI