RABAT, October 13. /TASS/. A search operation at the crash site of the Antonov An-72 cargo plane in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) continues, despite the difficult conditions, Natalia Kononova, a spokesperson for the Russian embassy in the DRC, told TASS on Sunday.
"The search operation at the crash site continues. The operation is very difficult because the plane crashed in the jungles. As soon as the DRC authorities inform us about the operation’s results we will make public this information on our official accounts in social networks and will inform the families," she said.
"We cannot confirm reports that there were more than two Russian nationals aboard the crashed An-72. We don’t possess such information," she added.
The Russia embassy earlier confirmed that there were two Russians aboard the plane. "No other Russians were onboard," it stressed.
The Antonov-72 cargo plane of the DRC Air Force took off from the city of Goma in the country’s north, heading to the capital of Kinshasa. According to the DRC aviation authority, there were four crew along with civilian and military passengers, including members of DRC presidential staff. The passengers have not been yet identified. The plane lost contact with the control center 59 minutes after takeoff. No one has been found as of yet.