A chartered plane flying from Zaire to Angola crashed in a remote region of Angola, killing 139 of the 144 people on board, transport officials said Tuesday.

The plane crashed Monday night, but the incident was not reported until Tuesday evening. Details were vague, but transport officials in the Zairean capital of Kinshasa said most of the passengers were Angolans.

Officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the cause of the crash was not known.

No other details were immediately available.