Two wildlife wardens lost their lives on Wednesday when a small surveillance aircraft crashed during a routine monitoring mission over the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Virunga National Park, officials have confirmed.
According to park spokesperson Bienvenu Bwende, the two-seater plane went down in the Ishango area during a flight intended to support surveillance operations. The Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation (ICCN) stated that the men were working to “ensure the safety of agents operating in the park” at the time of the incident. An investigation into the cause of the crash is currently under way.
Virunga National Park, established in 1925, holds the distinction of being Africa’s oldest national park. It is celebrated for its rich biodiversity, including its population of endangered mountain gorillas, as well as its dramatic volcanic and forested landscapes.
However, the park is also situated within a volatile region in the eastern DRC that has been plagued by conflict for decades. Various armed groups operate in the area, with the Rwandan-backed M23 rebel group currently controlling parts of the park. The Ishango region, where the crash occurred near the Ugandan border, remains under the authority of the Congolese government.
