A South African military transport aircraft with UN peacekeeping soldiers on board on Thursday was gravely damaged in a crash landing in Eastern Congo, a UN spokesman reported.

Matthias Gillman, a spokesman for the UN stabilisation mission in Congo (MONUSCO) said that the four-engine turboprop C-130 Hercules aircraft overshot the runway while landing in Goma and burst into flames.

However, the fire was quickly put out by firefighters at the airport and the 59 passengers and eight crew members escaped unharmed.

The passengers include solders from the MONUSCO mission in the city of Beni.

The UN has tried to stabilise the country for the past 20 years with a 15,000-strong peacekeeping force.

 

 

NAN