FACBOX - Recent air disasters in Africa

LONDON (Reuters) - Kenya Airways lost contact on Saturday with a 737-800 passenger plane carrying 115 people on its way to the Kenyan capital Nairobi from Douala in Cameroon, officials said.

Following is a list of some major air crashes in Africa in recent years.

- Jan 8, 1996 - At least 350 people die when a Russian-built Antonov-32 cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in central Kinshasa, capital of Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo).

- Nov 23, 1996 - 125 of the 175 passengers and crew die when a hijacked Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 767 crashes into the sea off the Comoros Islands.

- Jan 30, 2000 - A Kenya Airways Airbus A-310 crashes into the sea shortly after takeoff from Abidjan in Ivory Coast, killing 169 of the 179 passengers and crew.

- May 4, 2002 - A Nigerian EAS Airlines BAC 1-11-500 with 79 people on board crashes in the north Nigerian city of Kano. At least 148 people are killed, 75 on the plane and at least 73 on the ground.

- July 4, 2002 - A Sudan Airways cargo plane crashes into a residential area of the Central African Republic's capital Bangui, killing 23 people, mostly passengers and crew.

- March 6, 2003 - An Algerian Boeing 737-200 crashes shortly after takeoff from Tamanrasset airport, killing 103 passengers and crew.

- May 8, 2003 - A cargo door opens in mid-flight on a Russian-built Ilyushin 76 transport plane in the Democratic Republic of Congo, sending at least 70 passengers plummeting to their deaths.