Minister's Aircraft Catches Fire During Emergency Landing
A government minister's jet burst into flames in a terrifying incident at Kolwezi Airport in the Democratic Republic of Congo today. The chartered aircraft, carrying Mines Minister Louis Watum Kabamba and a delegation of top officials, veered off the runway during landing and came to a stop on its belly before the tail section ignited.
Dramatic Evacuation Captured on Video
Nail-biting videos circulating on social media show thick black smoke billowing from the burning aircraft as airport workers desperately attempt to extinguish the flames with water hoses. Another disturbing clip captures panicked occupants scrambling to exit the plane, with some falling over in their rush to escape the burning wreckage.
The Embraer ERJ-145LR aircraft, operated by Airjet Angola with registration D2-AJB, had been travelling from Kinshasa to Kolwezi in Lualaba province when the accident occurred. According to aviation incident reports, the aircraft ran off runway 29 during the landing procedure at approximately morning local time.
Miraculous Escape Despite Aircraft Destruction
Isaac Nyembo, the minister's communications advisor, confirmed the incident but reported remarkably that no fatalities occurred among the passengers and crew despite the dramatic nature of the evacuation. The 63-year-old minister, who took office in August this year, was reportedly travelling to assess a mining disaster zone where a bridge collapse on 15 November had killed dozens of workers.
The jet is said to have been completely destroyed in the fire that engulfed the tail section. Investigators have now begun the process of determining what caused the runway accident, though the exact cause remains unknown at this early stage. The aircraft had departed from Kinshasa-N'Djiili and made a stopover before its fateful approach into Kolwezi Airport.
