Plane crash in Congo kills at least 27

A plane carrying 17 passengers crashed on Sunday in the densely populated city of Goma, in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, killing at least 27 people, including some on the ground, officials said. A lawmaker, Jean Paul Lumbulumbu, vice president of North Kivu’s Parliament, said more than two dozen bodies had been pulled from the rubble. Two people were rescued before the plane exploded, including one member of the crew, according to the National Border Health Program, which confirmed 25 dead in a statement later Sunday. The 19-seat plane, operated by the private carrier Busy Bee, was headed for the city of Beni, about 155 miles to the north, when it crashed shortly after takeoff into residential homes near Goma’s airport in North Kivu Province, according to the office of Gov. Nzanzu Kasivita Carly of North Kivu. The cause of the crash was not immediately clear. Heritier Said Mamadou, a Busy Bee airline staff member, told reporters, “There were 17 passengers onboard and two crew members.” He said the plane had taken off around 9:10 a.m. The aircraft crashed in the Mapendo District shortly after “missing” its takeoff, according to the provincial governor.<br/>