A Chinese built Harbin Y12 turboprop aircraft chartered by Canadian Mining firm Kinross Gold
Corporation yesterday crashed shortly after take off from Nouakchott's International Airport yesterday enroute to Tasiast, 300 kilometres north of the capital of Nouakchott.
Tasiast is the location of one of Kinross' open pit gold mines.
Read More Here [Reuters]""The plane crashed inside the Nouakchott airport perimeter just after taking off," said Colonel Teyib ould Brahim, a spokesman for Mauritania's armed forces. Witnesses said the plane caught fire before crashing but the cause was not clear."
Tasiast, Mauritania
In a statement on its website, Kinross Gold confirmed that "seven people were killed in the crash, including two pilots, two Mauritanian customs officials, and three contract security personnel though no Kinross personnel were on board." The seven were to go to Tasiast to collect refined gold.
The Mauritanian Air Force is reported to have operated two of the type, another of which crashed in 1996.
