GENEVA // A plane carrying 17 people on a humanitarian aid flight has crashed in Congo, the United Nations said today.
Air Serv International, which runs the twice-weekly aid delivery between Kisangani to Bukavu, said an aerial survey by helicopter showed no survivors.
The Beechcraft plane went missing in bad weather yesterday with two crew and 15 passengers on board, said Elisabeth Byrs, a spokesman for the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
She said the plane was discovered today 15km North-west of the airstrip at Bukavu in eastern Congo. She added that rescuers were on site but said she had no confirmation of casualties. The identity of the passengers and crew was not immediately disclosed.
"Search and rescue efforts were initiated early this morning and visual confirmation of the downed aircraft was made," a company statement said. The location was on steep ridge, it said.
Air Serv International, a Warrenton, Virginia-based group, describes itself as a "not-for-profit" aviation organisation that supports humanitarian programs worldwide.
Suzanne Musgravea, a spokesman for Air Serv, said that no Air Serv personnel were involved in the crash. She said that a commercial company called Cem Air was flying the plane.
* AP
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: SmartCrowd
Started: 2018
Founder: Siddiq Farid and Musfique Ahmed
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech / PropTech
Initial investment: $650,000
Current number of staff: 35
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Various institutional investors and notable angel investors (500 MENA, Shurooq, Mada, Seedstar, Tricap)
What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.