Death toll rises from Africa cargo plane crash

BRAZZAVILLE, Republic of Congo A Red Cross official says the death toll has risen to more than 25 people killed after an Ilyushin-76 cargo plane owned by a private Congolese company crashed near the airport in the Republic of Congo's capital.

Albert Mberi, secretary-general of the Red Cross in the Republic of Congo, said Saturday they had counted at least 25 people killed from the crash, including six Ukrainian crew members. Officials on Friday said at least three died. Mberi said several people were wounded and had been evacuated to the University Hospital in the capital, Brazzaville. Mberi said the death toll was provisional and could rise.

A state radio official put the death toll at 30.

The Republic of Congo is often overshadowed by its much larger neighbor, Congo - the scene of numerous crashes involving aging Soviet planes.

The plane belonged to Trans Air Congo and appeared to be transporting merchandise, not people, said an aviation official who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

The plane was coming from Congo's second-largest city, Pointe Noire, and tried to land during heavy rain, he said.

Ambulances rushed to the scene in the Makazou neighborhood, located near the airport, but emergency workers were hampered by the lack of light in this capital, which like so many in Africa has a chronic shortage of electricity.

Africa has some of the worst air safety records in the world. In June, a commercial jetliner crashed in Lagos, Nigeria, killing 153 people, just a few days after a cargo plane clipped a bus in neighboring Ghana, killing 10.