Crash of a UN plane in Congo: 32 dead including 2 Belgians (MAJ)
(BRUXELLES2/maj: 20 p.m.) The most diverse figures have circulated. But the balance sheet is now final. 32 people - crew, blue helmets and international experts - were killed on Monday in the accident at Kinshasa international airport of a plane chartered by the United Nations mission in Congo (MONUSCO). 33 people were on board (29 passengers and 4 crew members). Only 1 - a young Congolese officer - survived. But he is in critical condition (in a coma according to the latest indications).
The circumstances of the accident remain to be clarified. Black boxes are under review. The accident occurred around 14 p.m. local time when the plane was in the landing phase, while the weather conditions were not optimal (heavy rain). The Bombardier CRJ-100 or CRJ-200 aircraft of Airzena airlines (the Georgian company) came from Goma (North Kivu) via Kisangani (Oriental Province). It crashed and dislocated into several scattered pieces on the runway.
Among the victims: 2 Belgians, 1 employee of ACF France, the head of the UNOCI electoral mission...
According to the "manifesto" (the list of plane passengers) that B2 was able to consult (*), several electoral experts were on the trip, 2 agents from the United Nations Office of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), two UNDP agents, several Monuc experts (military, police, air force, etc.), NGO agents (International Rescue Committee, ACF France). On the side of nationalities, we can confirm the death of 4 Georgians and Armenians (the crew), 3 South Africans, 1 Senegalese, 1 Haitian, 1 Guinean, 2 Bengali soldiers, several Congolese and 2 Belgians.
The death of the Belgians has been confirmed by the Belgian Ministry of the Interior and Foreign Affairs. Chief commissioner, Kristina Bonnez joined the Belgian police in 1982. She had participated in the EU mission in Sudan in 2006, in the police assistance team (EUPAT) of the AMIS mission. The second Belgian is Jeroen Bervoets, son of the former secretary general of Agalec (the Flemish green party).
Among the victims also figured: Ahmedou El Becaye Seck, the former head of the electoral mission in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI), Dr Touré, specialist in infant mortality and reproduction (for ICR) as well as, he, a former Congolese vice-governor.
(*) As per current practice, we do not release the identity of individuals until this name has been publicly confirmed by official or family sources.
