A Fokker 50 turboprop aircraft operated by Compagnie Africaine d'Aviation (CAA) has crashed near the city of Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), killing between 30-50 passengers, say reports.

The aircraft was operating a scheduled service on the Lodja-Goma route and crashed in heavy rain prior to landing.

"We don't yet know the number of victims because we're still looking to get the [passenger] manifest from Lodja. But we estimate there could be between 30 and 50 deaths," Julien Paluku, governor of North Kivu province, was reported as saying.

Flightglobal Pro was unable to contact CAA regarding the incident.

According to Flightglobal Pro data, CAA operates eight aircraft: three Airbus A320s, one Fokker 100, and four Fokker 50s. The carrier also has two A320s and a McDonnell Douglas DC-9-80 in storage.

CAA operates passenger and cargo flights linking Kinshasa N'djili airport with destinations throughout the DRC. All airlines in the DRC are banned from operating in the EU as a result of safety concerns.

Source: Air Transport Intelligence news

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