OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso: Five people were killed and two others injured in a plane crash in the city of Diapaga in eastern Burkina Faso on Wednesday, according to the transport ministry.
“The accident involving an aircraft belonging to the private airline Lead’ai (happened) at around 12:45 GMT,” Roland Somda, the transport minister, said.
“Unfortunately, five people lost their lives and two others were injured, according to a provisional toll,” the minister said.
The PA32 plane was carrying seven people, including the crew, when it crashed after taking off from Diapaga Airport on the way to the eastern town of Feda Ngurma.
Samada said investigations are underway to determine the cause of this heartbreaking incident, and a crisis management unit has been set up.
Intercity aviation has grown rapidly in recent years and has become the safest means of transportation between certain areas of Burkina Faso blocked by jihadist groups.
The Sahel region country is coping with a n insurgency by insurgents affiliated with al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group that spread from neighboring country Mali in 2015.
The violence has killed an estimated 20,000 people and displaced more than 2 million in Burkina Faso, one of the world’s poorest countries in the restive Sahel region.
