Aid plane crashes in Congo with 17 on board

[September 02, 2008]  GENEVA (AP) -- A humanitarian aid flight carrying 17 people crashed on a ridge in eastern Congo, and the U.S.-based group that operated the route said Tuesday there appeared to be no survivors.

The Beechcraft plane disappeared in bad weather late Monday with two crew and 15 passengers on board, a spokeswoman for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said.

It was found Tuesday about 9 miles northwest of the airstrip at Bukavu in eastern Congo, its intended destination, Elisabeth Byrs told journalists in Geneva.

"Rescuers are on site," she said, adding that she had no confirmation of casualties. The identity of the passengers and crew was not immediately disclosed.

Air Serv International, a Warrenton, Va.-based group, runs the twice-weekly aid delivery between Kisangani to Bukavu. A company statement said a helicopter spotted the plane on a steep ridge, but that there appeared to be no survivors.

Air Serv International describes itself as a not-for-profit aviation organization that supports humanitarian programs worldwide.

No Air Serv personnel were involved in the crash, Suzanne Musgrave, a spokeswoman for the group told The Associated Press by telephone from Warrenton.

She said the plane was being flown by a commercial company, Cem Air.

A senior official with the South African company confirmed that it owned the plane and that two of its crew were flying the aircraft.

"The airplane at this point is missing," Cem Air's chief pilot MJ Booysen said by telephone from South Africa.

[Associated Press; By FRANK JORDANS]

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