Goma (DR Congo) (AFP)

South African military plane with more than 60 people on board missed landing Thursday at Goma airport in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, no casualties, it was learned from of the United Nations present in the region.

"The left reactor caught fire on landing. Firefighters from the United Nations Mission in the Congo (Monusco) intervened," said Monusco.

"There were eight crew members and 59 passengers on board. Everyone was evacuated unharmed. No major injuries to be reported. The airport runway was reopened."

It is a C-130 Hercules logistical support to the contingent of South African peacekeepers present in the Beni region, in the province of North Kivu.

The plane arrived from Beni, a town 350 km north of Goma.

In a statement, the South African military announced the opening of an investigation into the circumstances of the accident.

The South African Minister of Defense expressed in a press release "her gratitude" to the crew for "their expertise and professionalism" which saved human lives.

The incident affected "women and men of the South African defense forces who serve in the DRC," added Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula.

In the Beni region, the South African contingent integrates a Rapid Response Force within the Blue Helmets with two other countries in southern Africa, Malawi and Tanzania.

The peacekeepers present in Beni were accused in late November by demonstrators of powerlessness and inaction in the face of the massacres of civilians attributed to the group of Allied Democratic Forces (ADF).

On November 24 in Goma, at least 29 people died in the accident of a small airliner, which crashed two minutes after taking off from two houses in a working-class neighborhood.

The accident had killed 18 of the 19 people on the plane of the company Busy Bee, and others on the ground, according to the assessment of the provincial government of the province of North Kivu.

The aircraft was to rotate to Beni and Butembo.

The mountainous province of North Kivu is a hotbed of insecurity and instability, with many active armed groups.

© 2020 AFP