A plane crash killed five people and injured two others in the city of Diapaga in eastern Burkina Faso on Wednesday, the transport ministry said.
“The accident involving an aircraft belonging to the private airline Lead’ai (happened) at around 12:45 GMT,” transport minister Roland Somda said.
“Unfortunately, five people lost their lives and two others were injured, according to a provisional toll,” he added.
The PA32 plane was carrying seven people, including the crew, when it crashed after taking off from an airfield in Diapaga on its way to the eastern town of Fada N ‘Gourma.
“An investigation is underway to determine the causes of this tragic accident and a crisis unit has been set up,” Somda said.
Intercity flights have grown rapidly in recent years and are the safest means of transport between certain areas of Burkina, whose access is cut off by militant groups.
Burkina Faso has been grappling with an insurgency waged by rebels affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group that spilled over from neighbouring Mali in 2015.
The violence has killed almost 20,000 people and displaced more than two million in Burkin a Faso, one of the world’s poorest countries situated in the Sahel, a region wracked by instability.