Emergency workers in the Republic of Congo say at least 30 people were killed when a cargo plane slammed into homes near Brazzaville's airport on Friday.

The victims included all six crew members of the Soviet-era cargo plane, as well as local people who were killed when the plane skidded off the runway and ploughed into a residential area.

Armenia's Foreign Ministry confirmed Saturday that the pilots were Armenian.

The plane, a four-engine jet freighter , went down while trying to land at the Brazzaville Maya-Maya airport.

There was no official word on what caused the crash. Witnesses say the aircraft was trying to land during a violent storm.

The plane had earlier taken off from the western port city of Pointe-Noire.

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