PRETORIA – President Jacob Zuma on Friday sent his condolences to the families of the Drakensberg plane crash victims.

Eleven people, including six crew members, were killed when the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) Dakota DC3 C47 crashed in bad weather on Wednesday.

The plane left the Waterkloof Air Force Base in Pretoria en route to Mthatha in the Eastern Cape.

Zuma said the crash caused great anguish to the families of the victims and to all South Africans. 

He expressed gratitude to the servicemen, who died on duty while serving the state and the nation. 

The president said the families needed the support of their compatriots. 

At the same time, the SANDF convened a board of inquiry to establish the cause of the accident. 

Eyewitness News understands military investigators were still scouring the scene for clues.

On Thursday, an aviation expert said the Dakota’s design limitations could have been the reason behind the crash.

For more details go to http://ewn.co.za