A helicopter of the UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) crashed Tuesday in the Rutshuru territory of DR Congo's northeastern North Kivu province.

According to a briefing by MONUSCO, a helicopter on an Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance mission crashed around 12:00, local time. The causes of the crash remain unknown, according to the briefing, adding that a search-and-rescue mission is under preparation.

The preliminary information indicates that seven persons were on board the crashed helicopter, according to the same source.