Plane crash in Equatorial Guinea kills 55
{{date|July 17, 2005}}

An ''Equatair'' plane carrying 55 people crashed on Saturday soon after take-off near the capital of [[w:Equatorial Guinea|Equatorial Guinea]], [[w:Malabo|Malabo]]. Witnesses told AFP the [[w:Antonov|Antonov]] aircraft bound for [[w:Bata, Equatorial Guinea|Bata]] suddenly caught fire and crashed in a forest near Baney, a town some 19km from the capital. "''No one survived -- the plane was destroyed,''" said Alfonso Nsue Mokuy, the Information minister of E Guinea, after rescue teams arrived at the crash site on Sunday.

The old propeller-machine took off at about 10am local time (9am UTC) and disappeared from the radar soon after, officials said.

Flying in [[w:Africa|Africa]] is considerably more dangerous than in other parts of the world. While accounting for only 3% of worldwide air traffic, 27% of all fatal airplane crashes occur in Africa according to Dutch-based Aviation Safety Network. This is blamed on the chronic under-investment many airline companies on the continent suffer from.

== Sources ==
*{{source|url=http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L17556277.htm
|title=Equatorial Guinea says all 55 on crashed plane died
|author=
|pub=Reuters
|date=July 17, 2005}}

*{{source|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4689787.stm
|title= Many dead in E Guinea plane crash
|author=
|pub=BBC News
|date=July 17, 2005}}

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[[Category:Equatorial Guinea]]
[[Category:Disasters and accidents]]

[[de:85 Tote bei Flugzeugabsturz in Westafrika]]
[[es:Un accidente aéreo en Guinea Ecuatorial cobra la vida de 60 personas]]
[[pl:Gwinea Równikowa: 55 osób zginęło w katastrofie samolotu]]
[[pt:Acidente aéreo na Guiné Equatorial custa a vida de pelo menos 60 pessoas]]
An Equatair plane carrying 55 people crashed on Saturday soon after take-off near the capital of Equatorial Guinea, Malabo. Witnesses told AFP the Antonov aircraft bound for Bata suddenly caught fire and crashed in a forest near Baney, a town some 19km from the capital. "No one survived -- the plane was destroyed," said Alfonso Nsue Mokuy, the Information minister of E Guinea, after rescue teams arrived at the crash site on Sunday.

The old propeller-machine took off at about 10am local time (9am UTC) and disappeared from the radar soon after, officials said.

Flying in Africa is considerably more dangerous than in other parts of the world. While accounting for only 3% of worldwide air traffic, 27% of all fatal airplane crashes occur in Africa according to Dutch-based Aviation Safety Network. This is blamed on the chronic under-investment many airline companies on the continent suffer from.

*


de:85 Tote bei Flugzeugabsturz in Westafrika
es:Un accidente aéreo en Guinea Ecuatorial cobra la vida de 60 personas
pl:Gwinea Równikowa: 55 osób zginęło w katastrofie samolotu
Acidente aéreo na Guiné Equatorial custa a vida de pelo menos 60 pessoas
Equatorial Guinea Disasters and accidents