At least 27 died in a Busy Bee’s Dornier 228 crash in Goma, DR Congo

On 24 November 2019, a Dornier Do228-100 owned by Busy Bee crashed on several houses in Mapendo-Birere, near Goma Airport in the Democratic Republic of Congo, shortly after takeoff.

At least 27 people died, after an accident with a German-manufactured aircraft this morning in DR Congo, in the city of Goma. The aircraft had just taken off for a flight to Butembo. The airline said that there were 16 passengers and two crew members onboard.

Joseph Makundi, the coordinator of rescue services in Goma, told Reuters that 27 bodies had been recovered from the rubble, including those of several people hit by falling debris.

“I was at a restaurant with my family when I saw the plane spinning three times in the air and emitting a lot of smoke,” said Djemo Medar, an eyewitness in Goma’s Mapendo neighborhood. “After that we saw the plane crash into this house,” he said pointing to a nearby building.

“We know the pilot. His name is Didier. He was shouting, ‘Help me, Help me.’ But we had no way to get to him because the fire was so powerful,” Medar added.

People threw water from buckets and cooking pots onto the wreckage on fire.

All DR Congo airlines are on the European Union’s blacklist because the safety onboard these airlines can’t be guaranteed.