An unmanned aircraft used by UN peacekeepers in Democratic Republic of Congo crashed on Wednesday near the eastern town of Goma, sources at the airport and Interior Ministry said.
The UN force started using drones for the world body in December 2013 to help it monitor armed groups operating along Congo’s border zone with Rwanda and Uganda.
“One of these UN drones crashed not long after it took off,” a senior official of Congo’s Interior Ministry told Reuters.
There were no reports of casualties but a source at Goma’s airport confirmed the incident.
A spokesman for the UN Mission was not available for comment.
The Falco drones used by the UN force are manufactured by Selex ES, a unit of Italian Defence group, Finmeccanica .
The firm was not immediately available for comment.
