A South African Air Force plane crashed at Goma Airport in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Thursday afternoon.
South African National Defence Force (SANDF) spokesperson Siphiwe Dlamini said the plane had been deployed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as part of the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission (MONUSCO)
“The C130 from the South African Air Force was on its way back to Goma after delivering logistic supplies at Beni when the incident happened,” he said.
“MONUSCO sent a rescue team that brought the fire under control and everyone was safely evacuated,“ Mathias Gillman, acting spokesperson for MONUSCO told The Associated Press.
African Defence Review Director Darren Olivier said the incident is a “big blow” for the SAAF. “Even if this C-130BZ is repairable, I doubt they will be able to afford to repair it on their meagre budget, especially with the difficulty of replacing an outer wing section in an austere location like Goma.”
“The C-130BZ that crashed at Goma is confirmed as serial 403. The left wing is extensively damaged, and there was a fire on engine 1.”
The South African National Defence Force in a statement confirmed the incident with one of its aircraft and said a board of inquiry will be convened to investigate what happened.
