WINDHOEK – All passengers and crew of a Mozambican aeroplane were killed in a crash this weekend.
Flight TM 470 from Maputo to Luanda in Angola departed just after 11:00 on Friday but never reached its destination.
Wreckage was discovered in Namibia’s Bwabwata National Park on Saturday, close to its borders with Botswana and Angola.
According to media reports, game rangers encountered the burnt out wreckage and bodies scattered over a large area. The nationalities of the deceased have been made known as 10 Mozambicans, nine Angolans, five Portuguese, one French, one Brazilian and one Chinese. A total of 34 people died in the crash according to reports.
Heavy rainfall had occurred in the crash area at the time of the plane’s dissappearance. The voice recorder had been recovered from the accident scene by Namibian authorities.
The official press release issued by LAM airways states:
LAM – Mozambique Airlines, S. A. informs that its flight TM 470 departed from Maputo International Airport at 11:26 hours today, November 29, 2013, to Luanda, the Angolan capital, scheduled to arrive at 14: 10H, local Angola time has not arrived at its destination as scheduled.
Information obtained indicates that the flight has landed in a location in Northern Namibia, bordering Angola and Botswana near a place called Rundu. On board flight TM470 were 28 passengers and 6 crew members.
Currently LAM, Aeronautical and Airports authorities are establishing contacts with the authorities close to the location in order to confirm this information. LAM will provide updates as more information is obtained.
Read the full press release.
