KINSHASA, Congo -- More than 100 people are feared dead after the door of a Russian-made cargo plane reportedly opened during a flight over the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Defense Minister Irung Awan confirmed the accident took place late Thursday, about 45 minutes into the flight, The Associated Press reported.
Awan said the pilots managed to turn back and land the plane in the capital Kinshasa.
It was not immediately known how many people were on board, but a Russian aviation official in Kinshasa told Reuters that he believed the plane was carrying 129 passengers.
Two officials at the international airport in Congo's capital, Kinshasa, told AP that the passengers were believed to have been sucked out of the plane.
"The doors opened including the ramp as the pressure system broke down. Everybody was sucked out and is presumed dead," a military official in the capital Kinshasa told Reuters.
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http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/africa/05/09/plane.deaths/index.html
http://www.thisislondon.com/news/articles/4760811?source=Evening Standard
Defense Minister Irung Awan confirmed the accident took place late Thursday, about 45 minutes into the flight, The Associated Press reported.
Awan said the pilots managed to turn back and land the plane in the capital Kinshasa.
It was not immediately known how many people were on board, but a Russian aviation official in Kinshasa told Reuters that he believed the plane was carrying 129 passengers.
Two officials at the international airport in Congo's capital, Kinshasa, told AP that the passengers were believed to have been sucked out of the plane.
"The doors opened including the ramp as the pressure system broke down. Everybody was sucked out and is presumed dead," a military official in the capital Kinshasa told Reuters.
Want to learn more?
http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/africa/05/09/plane.deaths/index.html
http://www.thisislondon.com/news/articles/4760811?source=Evening Standard