Congo presidential staff in plane crash

A cargo plane carrying presidential staff has crashed in the Democratic Republic of Congo and all eight passengers and crew are feared dead.

The plane carrying President Felix Tshisekedi's driver, a logistics manager and some soldiers was headed from Goma to the capital Kinshasa.

It went off radar on Thursday afternoon, an hour after departing, a statement from the civil aviation authority said.

Debris of the plane has been found but the passengers are still missing, presidential adviser Vidiye Tshimanga said.

The cause of the accident was not yet clear.

Local media showed a crowd of hundreds of Tshisekedi supporters hitting the streets of Kinshasa after the news broke on Friday morning, fearing that the plane crash had been some kind of failed coup attempt against Tshisekedi.

The president took over from long-standing former president Joseph Kabila this year.