Plane Carrying 11 Persons Crashes In Cameroon
- Cause of the crash, identity, status of passengers remains unclear
- Search for survivors continues
Authorities of the Cameroonian Transport Ministries said a small passenger plane carrying 11 people on Wednesday crashed in a forest in central Cameroon and rescue efforts are still on to locate possible survivors.
The cause of the crash and the identity of those on board were not immediately clear, but local media reports said the aircraft was flying from Yaounde Nsimalen Airport to Belabo in the east of the country when air traffic services lost radio contact.
Reports said the aircraft was chartered by a private company, Cameroon Oil Transportation (COTCO) which is building and running a pipeline between Cameroon and neighbouring Chad.
The company maintains a major trans-border hydrocarbon pipeline that runs between Cameroon and neighbouring Chad, official sources told AFP, with the State Radio saying on Thursday that nine passengers and two crew members were inside the plane at the time of the crash.
According to the Transport Minister, Jean Ernest Massena Ngalle Bibehe; “The air traffic services have lost radio contact with an aircraft flying from Yaounde-Nsimalen-Dompta-Belabo-Yaounde-Nsimalen on Wednesday, May 11, 2022,” with 11 people on board.
Bibehe said following an air and ground search, the aircraft was found in a forest not far from Nanga Eboko, around 150km (93 miles) northeast of the capital Yaounde. However, he did not give details on the victims but indicated that ground resources are being sent to the rescue.
The Minister also urged Cameroonians to “assist the authorities in conducting rescue operations for the occupants of the aircraft”, which was chartered by a private company, Cameroon Oil Transportation Company (COTCO).
The crash is the first major industry incident reported in Cameroon since May 5, 2007, when a Kenya Airlines jet carrying 114 people crashed immediately after takeoff from Douala, killing everyone on board.
“We are not certain yet whether anyone survived,’’ a spokesperson for COTCO said, even as the aircraft type and make have not been made public by the authorities – Agency news
