(dpa) - A passenger plane crashed upon take-off into a busy neighbourhood in the eastern Congolese town of Goma on Tuesday, killing an unknown number of people, a Red Cross official said.
The US television news channel CNN said 78 people on board were killed, according to local authorities.
"The plane was leaving toward Kinshasa when it caught fire and at the end of the runway it crashed into a commercial area. We don't yet have a number of casualties," said Kitoko Kabambi, an official with the International Committee of the Red Cross in Goma.
"It's a popular area. There are usually lots of people there," he said.
The Goma-Kinshasa flight is run by Hewa Bora Airways, one of more than 50 Congolese flight companies prohibited from flying in the European Union.
A cargo plane plummeted into a crowded market in the capital Kinshasa in October, killing dozens of people on impact before bursting into flames.