New Russian air crash in Angola

Angolans are waiting to hear if their relatives were on board

A Russian-built Antonov 24 plane has crashed near the Angolan capital Luanda, killing up to 50 people.

It is the second Antonov to crash in Angola within the last three weeks.

A correspondent for the Portugese news agency counted more than 40 badly burned bodies at the crash scene, including women and children.

Angolan national radio reported the plane was on fire before it crashed five minutes after take-off in wasteland in the Golfe neighbourhood, in the outskirts of Luanda.

The operating company Asa Pesada and the national company for airports say they have recovered the black box and investigations are underway.

The BBC's Lara Pawson in Luanda says that meanwhile thousands of Angolans are waiting to discover whether or not their relatives or friends were on the Antonov 24.

Second crash

On 31 October, an Antonov-26 crashed near the northern Angolan town of Saurimo, 700 km (450 miles) east of Luanda.

The black box has been recovered and an investigation is underway

All 50 passengers and crew were killed.

Unita rebels said they shot the aircraft down, but the authorities said a technical fault in one of the engines was the cause of the crash.

Our correspondent says that after the October crash, the head of Angola's civil aviation, Branco Ferreira, told reporters there was a temporary ban on Antonov aircraft.

But she says that on Wednesday the director of Luanda's international airport said a ban had never been enforced, only a suspension of some flights.

Conflicting causes

Other crashes in recent years have been blamed on poor aircraft maintenance.

Russian-made Antonov planes are widely used in Angola

The rebels have in the past shot down civilian planes, claiming that they were supplying government troops.

There are dozens of Russian-made Antonov planes in Angola, used by private companies for passenger and cargo business across the country.

Angolan aviation experts travelled to Russia in September to urge Russian authorities to stop exporting rundown aircraft to the south-west African nation.

In October, the Angolan government announced that nearly 400 Russian pilots working in the country would be submitted to flying tests.

The decision came amid allegations that Russian pilots were flying under the influence of alcohol.