Plane crash in DR Congo kills more than a dozen

At least 14 people were killed on Friday when a military aircraft belonging to the Democratic Republic of the Congo's army went down in the southwest of the country, according to Al Jazeera, which cited government and military officials.

The plane had departed from Kikwit, a city in the country's southwest, and was headed to the capital, Kinshasa, when it reportedly suffered a mechanical problem. The crew attempted an emergency landing in Kenge, a town in Kwango province, Al Jazeera reported.

Remy Saki Bokinda, the deputy governor of Kwango province, said the aircraft came down on a residential plot because Kenge has no proper airstrip. "With no landing strip available in Kenge, the plane crashed into a residential plot," he said, according to Al Jazeera.

Congolese military spokesperson Major-General Efomi Ekenge confirmed that all 14 people aboard the flight died. He said 12 of the victims were burned so badly that they could not be immediately identified, while the pilot's body was recovered outside the wreckage.

Ekenge said the dead included senior military officials, among them two generals, as well as members of an accompanying delegation, other military personnel and civilians who were on the flight, Al Jazeera reported.

Officials have opened an investigation into what caused the crash, according to Ekenge, though no findings have yet been made public.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a large, resource-rich nation in central Africa that has faced prolonged instability, particularly in its eastern regions bordering Rwanda. Armed groups in that area have long fought over access to valuable mineral deposits, and the Congolese military has spent the past year contending with rebel factions that have seized several major towns and cities, according to Al Jazeera.

No further details about the identities of those killed, the exact circumstances of the technical failure, or the timeline of the investigation have been released so far.