GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) - At least four people were killed on Monday when a twin propeller plane carrying passengers and cargo crashed as it tried to land in bad weather in the eastern Congolese town of Goma.
"I have seen four bodies and the plane is lying in several pieces," a Reuters reporter at the scene said.
It was not immediately clear how many people were on board the Fokker 50, which was operated by CAA, a domestic airline. Local authorities said at least three people survived the crash.
Democratic Republic of Congo has one of the world's worst air safety records. There have been numerous crashes in Goma, the main town in eastern Congo, where the runway has not been fully repaired after a volcanic eruption in 2002 left it covered in lava.
The reporter said the plane had crashed in heavy rain in a residential area near government offices and a base used by United Nations peacekeepers.
"It missed the runway because of bad weather and came down on a property," said Lambert Mende, spokesman for Congo's government.
Mende said the plane had been returning to Goma from Lodja, some 700 km (440 miles) to the west: "It was a Fokker 50: a plane in good condition. I'd taken it many times myself."
(Reporting by Kenny Katombe; Additional reporting by Jonny Hogg in Kinshasa; Writing by David Lewis; Editing by Daniel Flynn)
