TheCable

At least four people were killed on Saturday when a propeller-engine cargo plane crashed into the sea near the International Airport in Cote d’Ivoire’s main City, Abidjan.

Rescue workers removed two bodies from the plane, which had broken into several pieces and came to rest near the beach.

Two other bodies were visible in the wreckage.

The plane frequently carries French military personnel and sub-contractors accompanying their cargo.

There was a storm over Abidjan early Saturday, but it was unclear whether the heavy weather was the cause of the accident.

France keeps around 950 military personnel in Ivory Coast as part of the FFCI force based in the biggest French army base on Africa’s Atlantic coast. Other bases are in Libreville, Gabon and Dakar, Senegal.

One of their key missions is to extract French or other western civilians in case of trouble in Ivory Coast or neighbouring countries.

Abidjan is strategically well-placed in the region as most French-speaking African countries can be reached by air in under three hours.