Angola plane crash kills 30 people including 3 army generals: reports
A military aircraft has crashed in Angola, killing at least 30 people including three army generals, according to media reports.
The plane, a Brazilian-made Embraer jet purchased by the Angolan military to transport senior officials, crashed Wednesday after taking off from Angola's second city of Huambo, the BBC says.
Luis Caetano, spokesman for the Huambo provincial authorities, told the BBC that six people had survived the crash including the pilot and co-pilot. Caetano said that people at the front of the plane survived, but passengers in the back died.
The pilot and co-pilot were taken to a military hospital with serious burn wounds, Agence France-Presse reports. Civilians were among the victims.
The plane, which was bound for the capital, Luanda, reportedly had a technical problem and a section caught fire, although it is not yet clear exactly what caused the crash.
Angola's state-run Angop news agency lists two of the dead as Lieutenant-General Bernardo Leitao Francisco Diogo and Lieutenant General Elias Malungo Bravo da Costa Pedro, AFP says.
Portuguese news agency Lusa said the accident happened at about midday local time.
Huambo's Albano Machado airport was re-opened by the Angolan president last month after renovations, the BBC says. Huambo is about 370 miles southeast of Luanda.
Angola is one of Africa's major oil producers, but the country has remained mired in poverty since its three-decade civil war ended in 2002.
According to Jane's Intelligence and Analysis, Angola has the largest standing army in central and southern Africa, and one of the largest air forces in sub-Saharan Africa.