Tue, May 02, 2006
UN Sending Team To Recover Wreckage Of Chartered Plane
Search crews continued
to combat rugged territory near the border of Uganda and the
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Monday to reach the wreckage of
an aircraft, believed to be a chartered Cessna Caravan flying for
the United Nations' World Food Programme. Authorities believe the
plane went down Friday in a region known as the "Mountains of the
Moon."
"It looks as if a team will have to climb there," said WFP
spokesman Michael Huggins, adding the wreckage is located
approximately 500 meters higher than originally thought.
Identities of the three people onboard the aircraft -- a South
African pilot, his wife, and another passenger who is believed to
be either a French or Canadian national -- have not been
released.
Helicopter crews located the wreckage on Margherita Peak this
weekend, but had to call off their recovery attempts due to
weather.
"...The difficulty is that no helicopter has been able to land
where it has been seen so we have not yet confirmed whether that is
the wreckage of the plane that went missing," said WFP regional
spokesman Peter Smerdon to Uganda's Daily Monitor.
Huggins cautioned it had not been confirmed the wreckage was
that of the missing cargo plane, which disappeared in the area
Friday while on a mission from Goma to the mountain community of
Bunia in the DRC. The plane was said to be carrying foodstuffs and
other items to the war-torn northeastern part of that country.
The Mountains of the Moon -- also known as the Ruwenzori massif
-- lies in both Ugandan and DRC territory. The aircraft's wreckage
is in Ugandan territory, according to local media reports.
A company called King Air Charter Services operated the
plane.
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