WINDHOEK – Five foreign tourists and their pilot have been killed in the southern African nation of Namibia after their light aircraft crashed into a house on take-off, aviation officials said.

They said the five dead tourists were believed to be from Israel, although there was no immediate confirmation from the Israeli authorities.

The plane, operated by Atlantic Aviation, crashed during a stop-over in the capital Windhoek for refuelling yesterday, while on its way to the Etosha National Park in the north of the country.

Ericsson Nengola, director of aircraft accident investigations at the department of civil aviation, said the plane was a six-seater Cessna 210, which took off in the late afternoon from Eros airport.

“It crashed about five minutes later into a house in Olympia, a southern suburb,” he told AFP.

“Investigations have started and we can only give details in a few days, but according to eyewitnesses, the sound of the plane’s engine did not sound right,” he added.

Nengola did not reveal the nationalities of the passengers but another senior aviation source said they were all believed to be from Israel.

Neither Israeli embassy officials or a spokesman for the foreign ministry in Israel could confirm the report.

However Israeli army radio reported that one Israeli had been either killed or wounded in the crash.

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IHE Ị GA-Ewepụ na edemede a:

The plane, operated by Atlantic Aviation, crashed during a stop-over in the capital Windhoek for refuelling yesterday, while on its way to the Etosha National Park in the north of the country.
Ericsson Nengola, director of aircraft accident investigations at the department of civil aviation, said the plane was a six-seater Cessna 210, which took off in the late afternoon from Eros airport.
“Investigations have started and we can only give details in a few days, but according to eyewitnesses, the sound of the plane's engine did not sound right,”.