By RFIPosted on 16-10-2019Modified on 16-10-2019 at 04:35

President Tshisekedi met with family members of victims of the Antonov 72. His driver and several of his escorts were on board. The Presidency officially confirmed Tuesday the location of the wreck in Sankuru province and promised to shed light on this accident.

The first bodies that were discovered around the wreckage were repatriated by Monusco. The Presidency promises to shed light on this tragedy and ensures that it has mobilized a team of experienced investigators. The aircraft, the crew, this plane of the Congolese army, chartered by the presidency to transport the vehicle of the Head of State and its close guard, raises many questions .

From Afghanistan to the Emirates ...

This Antonov 72 came out of the factory in 1987 and has changed hands several times and even since registration. The last, EK-72903, the one that can still be read on the debris of the aircraft, would make him a plane of the fleet of South Airlines, the Armenian company, but in the early 2000s, it is obscure private operators who manage it.

This plane is in Kabul in Afghanistan in 2006, Ukraine and the United Arab Emirates in 2011. For the two Russian pilots, the liability seems just as heavy. Their names have been communicated by the Russian Embassy. The first is called Vitaly Shumkov, a pilot of the same name and age was briefly arrested in Thailand in 2010, accused of carrying 30 tons of North Korean weapons.

His compatriot, Vladimir Sadovnichy, could be Vladimir Sadovnichy of the same age who was sentenced in 2011 in Tajikistan to 8 ½ years in prison for trafficking, after illegally crossing the border from Afghanistan with his Antonov 72 on behalf of a company registered in the British Virgin Islands.

#RDC #Antonov: Vitaly Shumkov may have been arrested in Thailand in 2010 accused of transporting North Korean weapons - https://t.co/NfbuEPYDO3 Vladimir Sadovnichy may have been sentenced in 2011 to Tajikistan for trafficking in Afghanistan - https://t.co/0WB0KrGz21 4/4

Sonia Rolley (@soniarolley) October 16, 2019

A Russian oligarch among the victims?

Both pilots had been released, charges dropped. According to a Congolese security source, if the identity of the Russian victims is confirmed, this raises serious questions about the checks carried out for the transport of equipment as sensitive as the president's car.

Since the disappearance of the plane, the Russian press, including opposition, has speculated on the presence of the Russian oligarch and close to Vladimir Putin, Eugene Prigozin in this aircraft. But the Russian embassy in Kinshasa assured that only two Russians were among the victims and said wait for the end of search operations before any other official comment.

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