Secretary General of the United Nations (UN) Dag Hammarskjold and the wreckage of the plane that claimed his life in 1961. THE LOCAL.SE
The mystery surrounding the plane crash in 1961 in Central Africa began to unfold.
The accident that killed United Nations Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold was allegedly caused by air strikes.
Sweden referred to the accident as 'an open wound', following a series of unsolved questions about Hammarskjold's death.
The incident occurred during the cold war between the western bloc and the Soviet bloc.
The latest findings of the crash investigation were carried out by taking into account all information released by Belgium, the UK, Canada, Germany and the United States.
Hammarskjold is a Swedish diplomat who has served as UN Secretary-General since 1953.
He was killed while on his way to negotiating a ceasefire in the minerals province of Katanga, the territory of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Hammarskjold was killed with 15 others.
The Hammarskjold plane crashed around 17 or 18 September 1961 near Ndola, north of Rhodesia, now known as Zambia.
Initial suspicion, accidents occur due to pilot error. However, an independent commission in 2013 noted the possibility of "enemy action" in the event.
Then, the commission requested further investigation.
Tanzania's former Justice Chief, Mohamed Chande Othman, gave his latest report on the accident investigation to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in August.
Othman has revisited the secret archives that point to the cause of the incident.
"Based on the completeness of the information we have, it seems reasonable if outside attacks and threats are the cause of the accident."
So quotes Othman statement reported by AFP on Tuesday (17/10/2017).
He added that the plane with the SE-BDY number was likely to fall due to a direct attack that made the plane crash, or cause a momentary disturbance to the pilot.
Othman also said there was some evidence from eyewitnesses who saw more than one aircraft flying in the air when the accident occurred.
"Another plane might be a jet, visible when the SE-BDY burns before it falls, and / or SE-BDY is fired or actively connected to another aircraft," he said.
"The evidence is hard to ignore," he said.
Pemberontak Katanga
The judge also paid attention to new information about the existence of aircraft operated by Katanga rebels.
They defy the independence of Congo from Belgium.
The findings also show the rebels have more air power than previously thought.
The evidence denied earlier theories that the Katanga troops might have shot down the plane and believed to have only one French-made Fouga jet.
Latest information provided by the United States, and other sources, shows there are three Fouga jet aircraft purchased from France.
The plane was sent to Katanga in 1961.
In addition, there are also other aircraft, one of them from West Germany used in Katanga.
Documents received from Britain and the United States also show the two countries had agents around Congo when the accident occurred.
However, Othman was unable to verify the claim of a Belgian pilot, 'Beukels', who told French diplomat Claude de Kemoularia in 1967, that he shot down the plane.
The request for such information was also sent to South Africa, which is called to have documents on 'Operation Celeste'.
The operation was a plan to kill Hammarskjold, but access to the operation had not been granted.
Russia and France were also asked to provide documents.
Othman recommends that the government appoint a senior official to explore their entire archives, paying particular attention to radio intercepts and related notes.
The report is expected to be presented to the face of the UN General Assembly.
In 2014, a resolution calls for a full investigation to openly disclose the death of Hammarskjold.
