Up to 36 people have been killed after a twin-propeller plane crashed while trying to land in bad weather in Goma, the main eastern city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the government said.
It was not immediately clear how many people were on board the Fokker 50, which was operated by the domestic airline CAA. The flight was arriving from the town of Lodja, some 440 miles (700km) to the west in Kasai-Oriental province.
A government spokesman said that, as the plane was loaded with cargo, it was not carrying its full capacity of 50 passengers. CAA declined to comment.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo has one of the world's worst air safety records. There have been numerous crashes in Goma, the main eastern city, where the runway has not been fully repaired after a volcanic eruption in 2002 left it covered in lava.
There were conflicting reports about the death toll. Some reports said there were 40 passengers on board. The Associated Press reported 36 people had died, while Reuters reported nine.
The government spokesman Lambert Mende said: "For the moment we have counted nine dead, passengers and crew. No one on the ground was killed. The plane fell in an empty space, and because of the rain, no one was around. It was really lucky."
Local authorities said at least three people survived the crash.
Goma's mayor, Naasson Kubuya, said: "The pilot managed to avoid houses. It's a horrifying accident. The city of Goma has become a field of disasters. We sympathise with the families of the deceased."
A Reuters reporter at the scene saw four bodies being removed from the wreckage of the plane, which was lying in several pieces.
The plane came down in heavy rain in a residential area near government offices and a base used by United Nations peacekeepers.
Mende said the plane had been in good condition: "It was a Fokker 50 … I'd taken it many times myself."