A cargo plane landed in a residential area of Mbuji-Mayi, Democratic Republic of Congo, on Thursday after overshooting the airport runway, killing seven residents. File photo by Myriam Asmani/MONUSCO

MBUJI-MAYI, Democratic Republic of Congo, Dec. 25 (UPI) -- At least seven people were killed when a cargo plane missed its landing in Mbuji-Mayi, Democratic Republic of Congo, and crashed into a residential area.

The plane, an Airbus 310 flown by the cargo company Services Air, arrived Thursday afternoon in rainy weather and near-zero visibility on a damaged runway. The aircraft overshot the runway by about 1,640 feet and plowed into the residential area, destroying several homes.


All those killed were residents; the plane suffered only minor damage.

Ngoyi Kasanji, governor of Kasai-Oriental province, where the accident occurred, said the pilot informed him a brake problem on the plane was the cause of the accident.

All air traffic in the country is currently provided by the United Nations, and arriving planes typically bring only material for UN uses and humanitarian purposes.