Atleast 67 people on Thursday escaped death after a South African military transporter aircraft caught fire on landing in Goma, a city in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo but UN officials said there were no casualties.
The plane was flying from Beni, a city about 350 kilometres (220 miles) north of Goma and also in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s East, an AFP report said.
“The left engine caught fire upon landing,” said the UN mission in the country, known by its French acronym MONUSCO, adding that its firefighters “intervened.”
“There were eight crew and 59 passengers. Everybody was evacuated safe and sound. Nobody suffered major injuries. The runway has reopened,” it said.
The plane served South African peacekeepers deployed in Beni, in the volatile North Kivu province.
Some reports said the plane was a Soviet/Russian-made Antonov.
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