Yerevan Says Brazzaville Crash Plane Was Armenian

A cargo plane that crashed at Brazzaville airport killing at least 27 people belonged to the Armenian freight specialist airline Rij Airways, the foreign ministry in Yerevan said Saturday.

The plane, carrying seven crew members, crashed as it tried to land in a storm on Friday.

Most of the victims were local people killed when the plane skidded off the runway and ploughed into houses and a bar in the Congolese capital.

"According to initial information, the crew was made up of seven people, of whom five were Armenian," added Armenian civil aviation authority spokeswoman Nelli Tchertchinian.

"They all died," she said.

In Brazzaville, a hospital official told AFP there were 27 bodies. It was not clear if this included the crew.

More than 30 others were injured in the disaster.

The four-engine Ilyushin T76 plane had earlier taken off from the western port city of Pointe Noire.