36 dead in Congo plane crash

GOMA, Congo (AP) — A plane crash in the eastern city of Goma has killed 36 passengers, according to Congolese officials.

A Fokker airplane of the private airline CAA was carrying 40 people and only four people survived, said Goma's mayor Naasson Kubuya.

The plane was flying from Lodja in East Kasai Province in the center of the country. The aircraft crashed in the center of Goma, near the electoral commission's building, but it did not hit any people on the ground, he said.

"The pilot managed to avoid houses," said Kubuya. "It's a horrifying accident. The city of Goma has become a field of disasters. We sympathize with the families of the deceased."

Last year, a plane crash in the city of Bukavu killed President Joseph Kabila's personal adviser, Augustin Katumba.