Light plane crashes into DR Congo city: witnesses, airline

A small plane carrying 19 passengers and crew crashed on takeoff Sunday into a densely populated area of Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the airline and witnesses said.

The Dornier-228 aircraft had been headed for Beni, 350 kilometres (220 miles) north of Goma when it went down. It crashed into a residential area near Goma airport.

"There were 17 passengers on board and two crew members. It took off around 9-9.10 am (0700 GMT)," Busy Bee airline staff member Heritier Said Mamadou said.

Busy Bee, a recent company, has three planes serving routes in North Kivu province.