KINSHASA: A military plane crashed in the Democratic Republic of Congo, killing at least 14 people, including two senior military officials, according to the Congolese military.
The two senior officials were Lieutenant General Joseph Mutombo Katalayi Tiende, head of the High Military Court, and Lieutenant General Lucien-René Likulia Bakumi, auditor general of the armed forces.
The military said 12 members of the delegation also died in the crash, along with members of the aircraft crew. The statement did not provide a separate figure for the crew, while reports citing the military put the confirmed death toll at 14.
The aircraft was returning to the capital, Kinshasa, after an official mission in Kikwit, in the southwestern province of Kwilu, when it crashed in Kenge, the capital of Kwango province.
Local officials said the aircraft encountered a technical problem while approaching Kenge and attempted to find a place to land before crashing into a residential plot. Initial reports indicated that there were no reported deaths among people on the ground.
The precise cause of the crash has not yet been established. The Congolese Armed Forces have opened an investigation to determine the circumstances and exact cause of the accident.
The two senior military officials were travelling as part of an official delegation returning from the service mission in Kikwit.