Three South Africans killed in Congo plane crash

Three South African UN officials were among the 32 people killed when a plane crashed upon landing in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the department of international relations and co-operation says.

"We can confirm that there were three South Africans on board. This is the only information we received from the UN, and are currently awaiting confirmation if there were any others," spokesman Clayson Monyela said.

"Government sends out its condolences to the families."

Monyela said government will be providing assistance to affected families, along with the UN.

The UN plane crash landed on Monday. One person survived the crash.

Agence France Presse reported that UN officials and peacekeepers were headed from Kisangani to Kinshasa's N'Djili airport, for a UN mission known as Monusco.

Rescuers and fire-fighters had to cut out seats to free people trapped inside, AFP said.

An AFP reporter on the scene "saw 16 bodies pulled from the plane, which broke into pieces on impact as the pilot tried to land in torrential rain."