DR Congo plane crash kills 127 people

A Boeing 727 passenger jet crashed into jungle in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Friday, killing 127 people on board, officials said.

The transport ministry said 51 people survived the accident which occurred during heavy rain as the aircraft came in to land at the eastern port town of Kisangani, according to Reuters.

But executives from Hewa Bora airline said only 53 people were killed and 57 survived.

"The pilot tried to land but apparently they didn't touch the runway," chief executive Stavros Papaioannou told Reuters.

He added that only 110 people were on board the plane – one of only two 727s the airline operates – when it plunged into the forest some 200 meters (yards) from the runway.

Transport ministry spokesman Gudile Bualya accused the airline – which is banned from European Union airspace for safety reasons – of downplaying the true death toll.

Government spokesman Lambert Mende told AP that thunder was to blame for the crash.

"It was due to the thunder," he said, adding that around 50 people had been killed.

The higher official toll would bring the number of people killed in three Hewa Bora (which means "fresh air" in Swahili) crashes since 2008 to more than 180.

Road and rail travel is difficult in the massive African country, making air travel essential for many journeys.

Nevertheless the country has one of the worst air safety records in the world.