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

The victims include all six crew members of the Soviet-era cargo plane, as well as local people killed when the plane skidded off the runway and plowed 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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