A plane operated by the United Nations has crashed at Kinshasa Airport in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Some 32 of 33 people on board are believed to have been killed, the UN says.

The CRJ-100 jet broke in two and burst into flames as it attempted to land in heavy rain.

It had reportedly flown from Goma via Kisangani in the north-east.

Twenty UN workers were listed as being on the plane, which had a Georgian crew and both Congolese and foreign nationals aboard.

The passengers included peacekeepers, United Nations officials, humanitarian workers and electoral assistants, the official said.

Congolese have come to rely on United Nations aircraft for transport.

In a country with only 1,736 miles of paved road - Algeria, slightly larger and in the Sahara Desert, has over 47,000 miles of paved road, according to the CIA Factbook -United Nations flights have become one of the better means of transportation. 

However, Congolese airlines are generally prohibited from flying to Europe.