VOA标准英语2008年-No Sign of Survivors in DRC Aid Plane Crash

The United Nations reports a humanitarian¹ aid flight carrying 15 passengers and two crew crashed in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, 15 kilometers northwest of the airstrip at Bukavu in South Kivu Monday afternoon. The U.S.-based group that operates the craft says there appears to be no survivors², but U.N. officials say they are still unable to confirm this. For VOA, Lisa Schlein reports from Geneva.

The plane crashed on a ridge³ in eastern Congo while on its way from Kisangani to Bukavu, on Congo's eastern border with Rwanda.

A U.N. spokeswoman, Elizabeth Byrs, says a search and rescue mission arrived in the area Tuesday morning. She says the reasons for the crash are still under investigation⁴. But, the cause was probably due to bad weather.

"It is also a very dangerous region because the fog and mist can fall suddenly and weather conditions are sometimes very bad in this forest and mountainous area," she said.

The Air Serv International plane is operated by a group based in Warrenton, Virginia. The plane was being flown by a commercial South African company, Cem Air.

Byrs says the plane was on a regular twice-weekly flight, carrying humanitarian workers to the region.

"It is not for profit," she said. "It is a humanitarian flight and the organizations in the field use this kind of flight to transport the staff or to fly some assistance... In fact they transport the staff from one place to another and they can carry limited relief assistance, but it is more transporting the humanitarian workers."

Most aid agencies avoid traveling on commercial flights in the region because of their poor safety records. In April, a Congolese aircraft crashed near Goma killing⁵ nearly 50 people and injuring more than 100.

The civil war in Eastern Congo officially ended five years ago. But, fighting between rebel and militia⁶ groups and government forces continues. The humanitarian toll⁷ has been enormous.

The U.N. and other aid agencies say nearly 5.5 million people in eastern Congo have died, mostly from war-related hunger and disease.

1 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

2 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

3 ridge   

n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭

参考例句：

• We clambered up the hillside to the ridge above.我们沿着山坡费力地爬上了山脊。
• The infantry were advancing to attack the ridge.步兵部队正在向前挺进攻打山脊。

4 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

5 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

6 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

7 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。