- At least six people have died in a Wednesday morning plane crash in Madagascar's south-west. The light plane crashed shortly after it took off, witnesses confirmed. Two pilots of the plane who were Madagascans died along with four foreign passengers.
"A small plane belonging to a private airline, la SociCtC de Transport ACrien, crashed at about 4:15 am in Toliara ... killing 6 people," Roland Randriamampionona, Minister of Transport and Public Works in Madagascar, said on national radio.
Mr Randriamampionona said already an inquest had been set up to ascertain the actual cause of the early morning crash.
"I went personally to bless those poor bodies extracted from the wreckage of the plane. They were in terrible conditions with serious burns and almost unrecognisable," the director of the Salesian centre of Tulear, south-west of Madagascar's capital Antananarivo, Carmelo Buccieri, told 'MISNA'.
"They were six people, including four Italian businessmen and two Malagasy pilots. One of the Italians however apparently had a Swiss passport", he confirmed.
Mr Buccieri said the perished passengers reportedly arrived in Madagascar last night and had dinner with their mutual friend before taking off their flight this morning. "I was told that they all worked for the Magrama company, which operates in the marble sector", confirmed Mr Buccieri, revealing that that the incident occurred immediately after take-off, at around 4:05a.m. local time.
"I arrived nearly an hour later, but based on testimonies I gathered from the locals and airport officials, the small plane set fire on take-off and turned back to land after around a kilometre and a half", he said.
It could be recalled that an engine failure forged an Air Madagascar plane carrying 200 passengers into making an emergency landing in July this year. However, there was no report of casualty.
afrol News - It is called "financial inclusion", and it is a key government policy in Rwanda. The goal is that, by 2020, 90 percent of the population is to have and actively use bank accounts. And in only four years, financial inclusion has doubled in Rwanda.
afrol News - The UN's humanitarian agencies now warn about a devastating famine in Sudan and especially in South Sudan, where the situation is said to be "imploding". Relief officials are appealing to donors to urgently fund life-saving activities in the two countries.
afrol News - Fear is spreading all over West Africa after the health ministry in Guinea confirmed the first Ebola outbreak in this part of Africa. According to official numbers, at least 86 are infected and 59 are dead as a result of this very contagious disease.
afrol News - It is already a crime being homosexual in Ethiopia, but parliament is now making sure the anti-gay laws will be applied in practical life. No pardoning of gays will be allowed in future, but activist fear this only is a signal of further repression being prepared.
afrol News / Africa Renewal - Ethiopia's ambitious plan to build a US$ 4.2 billion dam in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, 40 km from its border with Sudan, is expected to provide 6,000 megawatts of electricity, enough for its population plus some excess it can sell to neighbouring countries.
front page
| news
| countries
| archive
| currencies
| news alerts login
| about afrol News
| contact
| advertise
| español