Plane crashes in western Congo, killing 19 passengers with 2 survivors, police say

Police: Plane crashes in west Congo, killing 19

KINSHASA, Congo — A passenger plane crashed Wednesday in western Congo, killing 19 people but police said there were two survivors.

Col. Joli Limengo, police chief of Bandundu province where the plane crashed midday, said that 19 bodies had been pulled from the wreckage.

The plane operated by local airliner FILAIR was going from central Congo to Bandundu when it crashed. It was due to then continue on to the capital of Kinshasa.

Congo has one of the worst air safety records in the world. The Central African country’s safety regulations are notoriously lax.

Few passable roads traverse Congo after decades of war and corrupt rule, forcing the country’s deeply impoverished people to rely on ill-maintained planes and boats to move around.