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Conflicting death tolls after Angolan plane goes down

Between 13 and 25 people died in a plane crash in the mountains near Huambo, Angola, on Saturday, conflicting reports said.

A local official at the scene said that 25 bodies had been retrieved from the wreckage, but civil aviation officials put the number at 13.

"I can confirm that there was a plane crash and we counted at least 25 bodies," the Huambo provincial government official said by telephone. "As far as we are concerned there were no survivors."

But state radio RNA later quoted the country's Civil Aviation Institute as saying that 13 people, all of whom were on board, died in the accident.

"Thirteen people on board ... died when the aircraft attempted to land," the radio report said.

Among the dead are two Portuguese nationals and the owner of the plane, Valentin Anoes, who is also a senior member of Angola's ruling party, his family said.

"Yes, my uncle was flying in that plane going to Huambo for business purposes," a person who identified himself as Anoes' nephew said by telephone.

"We just got the news that the plane crashed and my uncle and everybody else in it died," the nephew said.

"The family is very much in distress. We lost my uncle and my cousin," he said referring to Anoes' son, whose name was not given.

The King Air B200 airplane belonged to private company Gira Globo, owned by Anoes, which operates chartered flights in Angola.

Lusa news agency reported that the aircraft left Luanda for Huambo city, about 450km southeast of the capital, when the accident happened.

RNA said the plane was attempting to land when it crashed before it burst into flames.
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