UPDATED-Seven killed after plane chartered by Kinross Gold crashes in Mauritania

Seven people were killed Thursday when a military plane chartered by Canada’s Kinross Gold Corp. (TSX:K, NYSE:KGC) crashed during takeoff in the Mauritanian capital Nouakchott, an army source told AFP.

The plane caught fire shortly after taking off and, despite the pilot’s attempts to return to the runway, three military crew members, two custom officials and two civilian passengers died on the spot.

The spokesperson affiliated with the West African nation’s flight control agency, added the civilian victims’ identities were not immediately clear.

The plane was headed to Kinross Gold’s Tasiast mine, locate about 400 kilometres north of the capital.

In a statement released later this morning, Kinross offered its condolences to the families of the victims, adding that no one from the company was on board and the plane was not carrying any gold.

(Image:  Tasiast mine, courtesy of Kinross Gold)