MOSCOW, January 28 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian government has provided $200,000 in humanitarian assistance to the Democratic Republic of Congo following a plane crash last year, the Foreign Ministry said on Monday.
Seventeen people, including three Russian crew members, were killed aboard an airplane that crashed in Congo on October 4, 2007.
The An-26, owned by local airline Africa-1, was carrying cargo and passengers when it crashed into a residential area near Kinshasa shortly after take off.
The three Russians killed in the tragedy were subsequently identified as crew commander Valery Barannik, second pilot Sergei Starovoitov and flight engineer Ivan Bondarev.
The aircraft lost its right-wing propeller on take off. As the aircraft fell, its wings struck nearby trees, which then broke off, causing a huge fire which subsequently spread to residential buildings in Kinshasa's suburban area.
