CongoPlaneCrash Tribute

At least 30 people were killed Thursday after a plane crashed in a poor, crowded suburb of Kinshasa right after takeoff, according to a Congolese Ministry of Information official.

All 22 on board the plane -- 16 passengers and six crew -- were killed, as well as up to eight people on the ground, according to Jean-Pierre Eale, an aide to the Democratic Republic of Congo's information minister.

However, U.N. peacekeeping spokesman Michel Bonnardeaux, citing police reports, said 25 people were killed and two aboard the plane survived -- a mechanic and a flight attendant who was in critical condition, The Associated Press reported.

The Antonov-26 crashed into at least one house near a crowded marketplace in the country's capital, Kinshasa, Congolese officials said.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said one of the plane's propellers broke off during takeoff and one of its wings was sheared off as it hit a bank of trees, AP reported.

Several witnesses echoed that account to AP, saying the aircraft appeared to be missing a propeller before it crashed.

"The plane clipped several treetops and hit the roofs of three houses, crashing onto its back with its tires in the air," Japhet Kiwa, who lives a few miles away from the airport, told AP. "There was a huge explosion."

The plane took off from Kinshasa International Airport, also known as N'Djili International Airport, around 10:40 a.m. (5:40 a.m. ET) en route to Tshikapa in the southern part of the country near the Angolan border, Eale and other Congolese officials said.

A few minutes after takeoff, the plane experienced problems and began dumping fuel before establishing radio contact with the airport's tower, Eale said. Just as it radioed the tower, the plane crashed into the suburb of Masina, he said.

Video of the scene showed smoldering wreckage, including what appeared to be one of the Antonov-26's two turboprop engines and the charred remains of a building. Dozens of men hoisted a water hose to douse the flames.