DR Congo crash toll rises to 17 as two army generals named among victims
The Democratic Republic of Congo's transport ministry says 17 people died in Friday's light-aircraft crash near Kenge, revising the initial toll of 13; two lieutenant generals, including the head of the High Military Court, were among the victims.
Seventeen people, including two of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s most senior military justice officials, were killed when a light aircraft crashed in the country’s southwest on Friday, the transport ministry said on Saturday, revising an initial toll of 13 (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/26/plane-crash-in-dr-congo-kills-more-than-a-dozen).
The deputy governor of Kwango province, Remy Saki Bokinda, told reporters that “contrary to the initial toll of 13 deaths, we discovered 16 bodies of adults and the body of a baby, bringing the total to 17” (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/26/plane-crash-in-dr-congo-kills-more-than-a-dozen). The transport ministry said 13 passengers and four crew members died (https://gulfnews.com/world/top-officials-among-17-killed-in-dr-congo-air-crash-ministry-1.500689169).
The two generals were named as Lieutenant General Joseph Mutombo, first president of the High Military Court, and Lieutenant General Lucien-Rene Likulia, the armed forces’ auditor general, in a Congolese army statement (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/26/plane-crash-in-dr-congo-kills-more-than-a-dozen). Likulia prosecuted former president Joseph Kabila at his 2025 trial in absentia, which ended in a death sentence for treason and war crimes (https://gulfnews.com/world/top-officials-among-17-killed-in-dr-congo-air-crash-ministry-1.500689169).
The aircraft, a Let 410 UVP operated by Tracep Congo Aviation, left Kikwit at 1.50pm bound for Kinshasa and crashed about 15 minutes later near Kenge after developing a technical fault; with no landing strip available it struck a residential plot and caught fire (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/26/plane-crash-in-dr-congo-kills-more-than-a-dozen; https://www.trtworld.com/article/a1e62e082c13). The toll was revised upwards after the wreckage fire was brought under control (https://www.anews.com.tr/world/2026/09/26/17-killed-in-dr-congo-plane-crash).
President Felix Tshisekedi ordered a thorough investigation into the crash and extended condolences to the victims’ families and the security forces, his office said (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/26/plane-crash-in-dr-congo-kills-more-than-a-dozen). The transport ministry suspended Tracep Congo Aviation’s operations nationwide pending the aviation-accident inquiry (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/26/plane-crash-in-dr-congo-kills-more-than-a-dozen).
Sources
- Al Jazeera — “Plane crash in DR Congo kills at least 17”: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/26/plane-crash-in-dr-congo-kills-more-than-a-dozen
- Gulf News (AFP) — “DR Congo Air Crash Kills 17, Including Top Military Justice Officials”: https://gulfnews.com/world/top-officials-among-17-killed-in-dr-congo-air-crash-ministry-1.500689169
- TRT World (AFP) — “DR Congo plane crash kills 17, including two army generals”: https://www.trtworld.com/article/a1e62e082c13
- ANews — “17 killed in DR Congo plane crash”: https://www.anews.com.tr/world/2026/09/26/17-killed-in-dr-congo-plane-crash
- Mathrubhumi English — “Two generals among 17 killed as aircraft crashes in Congo’s Kenge”: https://english.mathrubhumi.com/news/world/congo-plane-crash-several-killed-including-two-military-generals-knu3t5p6
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