Seven killed in Angola plane crash

Luanda, Oct 13 (AFP) All seven passengers and crew werekilled when a plane bound for the Angolan capital Luandacrashed in a remote corner of the co...

Luanda, Oct 13 (AFP) All seven passengers and crew werekilled when a plane bound for the Angolan capital Luandacrashed in a remote corner of the country, emergency servicessaid today.

The Brazilian-built Embraer aircraft operated by AirGuicango crashed yesterday after taking off from Dundo in thenortheast near the Congolese border, said fire brigade chiefFelismino Ndumba.

"The aircraft left Dundo at 4:58pm (1558 GMT) for Luanda.

We lost contact shortly after take off," Ndumba told AFP byphone.

"Despite our efforts we haven't had any contact with theaircraft since then. There were seven people aboard includinga Portuguese national and a South African."A government source told the Lisbon-based news agencyLusa that the Portuguese victim was a 39-year-old firefighter.

The flight is thought to have crashed into a lake justsouth of Cuilo municipality, according to Ndumba.

"It is impossible that there were any survivors," hesaid.

The cause of the crash is still unknown but the firechief said that the aircraft had recently suffered"malfunctions".

Two military helicopters were dispatched to the region tolocate the wreckage and the victims' bodies, according to airforce spokesman Francisco Waianga.

Angola has a poor air safety record and all of the oil-rich African country's airlines are banned from operatingwithin the European Union except for the flag-carrier TAAG.

(AFP)SMJ.

This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.

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