They include 10 members of a UN peacekeeping operation in Angola and four crew.

The UN Security Council has asked both sides in the Angolan civil war to allow UN forces access to the region near the central city of Huambo, to search for possible survivors.

Issa Diallo, the UN special envoy to Angola, says he believes some of those on board survived Saturday's crash.

He told the BBC that a radio message was sent from the C-130 transport plane on Sunday.

The area has been the scene of heavy fighting between Angolan troops and Unita rebels.

The Angolan Government has accused Unita of shooting down the plane, which was en route to Saurimo, but the rebels says they have no knowledge of the crash.

The UN observer mission in Angola said the plane burst into flames after taking off from Huambo, which has been the target of Unita shelling in recent weeks.

Aid flights suspended

The United Nations World Food Programme suspended aid flights in Angola after the crash.

A WFP spokesman said the food delivery flights were being called off until Wednesday as a precautionary measure until more was known about the crash.

WFP flights are a lifeline for thousands of refugees who have fled to the provincial capital of Huambo, to escape weeks of heavy fighting in central Angola.

Attempts to locate the wreckage of the plane are being hampered by continuing fighting.

UN list

The UN named identified the crew members as Captain John Wilkinson of South Africa, Angolan Tavares Da Silba, Carlos Melgar of Bolivia and Benjamin Montefalcon from the Philippines.

The passengers included Angolans Jose Data, Dala Antonio and Rui Camling, Assa Salaam Galal of Egypt, Wilfried Mateka of Cameroon, Zambian Margaret Zulu and Lt. Paulus Willem of Namibia.