VOA常速英语2008年-More Than 70 Killed in Eastern DRC Plane Crash

By Kari Barber
Dakar
15 April 2008

Officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo say more than 70 people have been killed in the crash of a passenger plane in the eastern city of Goma. The plane, which was carrying up to 100 people, crashed into a busy market area shortly after take-off Tuesday and burst into flames. They say at least six people on board survived, including two pilots. Kari Barber reports from our West and Central Africa bureau in Dakar.

Serge Ukungi saw the passenger plane crash and burst into flames.

"I was near the plane, I was 200 meters from the accident," said Ukungi.

He says he saw the pilot and a few other survivors¹ being pulled out.

The jet, owned by Hewa Bora airline, a private Congolese company, was on a flight to Kinshasa. Journalist Naomi Schwarz was on the scene in the Birere neighborhood of Goma near the runway.

"A plane crashed about an hour and a half ago in the middle of a busy market street. The plane is still smoking, the fire seems to be getting worse," she said. "The whole top of the plane is ripped² off and the two buildings next door are pretty much destroyed too. People are carrying buckets full of water to try to put out the fire. Just buckets they found on the streets."

Schwarz says rescue workers fear many people on the ground were killed too. She says the United Nations has had to hold people back to prevent them from getting too close to the plane which was still on fire.

Democratic Republic of Congo has one of the worst aviation³ safety records in the world.

A plane crash in a residential⁴ area of the capital Kinshasa last year left more than 50 people dead.

1 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

2 ripped   

adj. <美俚>喝醉的，受毒品麻醉的 动词rip的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He had ripped up the carpet, leaving only the bare boards. 他用力扯去了地毯，只剩下裸露的地板。
• I ripped my jeans on the fence. 我的牛仔裤在栅栏上划破了。

3 aviation   

n.航空，航空学，飞机制造业

参考例句：

• Ten years ago,they began to develop the aviation. 十年前，他们开始发展航空工业。
• Pilots of large aircraft are masters of aviation.大型飞行器的驾驶员是航空学方面的专家。

4 residential   

adj.提供住宿的；居住的；住宅的

参考例句：

• The mayor inspected the residential section of the city.市长视察了该市的住宅区。
• The residential blocks were integrated with the rest of the college.住宿区与学院其他部分结合在了一起。