Hard Landing Of UN Plane In Mali's Gao City Leaves 11 People Injured - MINUSMA

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 03rd August, 2020) Eleven people, including United Nations employees, have sustained injuries of varying severity as a result of an UN-chartered aircraft hard landing in the eastern Malian city of Gao, the UN Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) said on Monday.

"This Monday, August 3, at around 10:15 a.m. [10:15 GMT], a MINUSMA plane from [Mali's capital of] Bamako with eleven (11) people (four passengers, all UN personnel, and seven crew members) on board, performed a hard landing at the Gao airport," MINUSMA said in a press release.

The preliminary assessment is that one crew member was seriously injured and ten other passengers sustained lighter injuries, the UN mission said, adding that all injured individuals were promptly hospitalized.

The Maliweb news portal has reported that the UN plane drifted outside the runway and crashed. MINUSMA described the aircraft's damage as "extensive."

According to the press release, a response team was dispatched at the scene and an investigation would be launched into what could have possibly caused the crash landing.�