A cargo plane chartered by Democratic Republic of Congo's army crashed near the capital Kinshasa on Saturday, killing all 12 on board.
Photo from video
The Antonov transporter had just taken off from Kinshasa's Ndjili airport, heading for the eastern region of Kivu, where the army is fighting militia groups, according to an airport official.
The plane went down at N'sele, about 100 kilometres east of the city.
Transport Minister Jose Makila, in a statement read on state television, said there had been a total of "12 crew members on board" but there were "no survivors."
"An inquiry is underway to determine the likely cause of the accident," he added.
The plane, which had a Russian crew, was carrying "two vehicles and weapons" as well as military personnel, according to a source at the army's headquarters.
Army spokesmen could not be reached for comment.
A passenger who had been unable to board the flight at Ndjili said the plane's destination was Bukavu, capital of the sub-region of Sud-Kivu, which lies on the frontier with Rwanda.
Fighting broke out there on September 24, and was followed on Thursday by clashes in Sud-Kivu's second largest city, Uvira, which is on the border with Burundi.
At least three transport planes have crashed in the DRC since 2000.
