The death toll of 11, issued by the national aviation authority (RVA), was higher than a provisional figure of seven given by local officials and the UN-funded Okapi radio.

"The accident has caused 11 deaths -- seven passengers, three Russian crew members and an escort, a member of the company that owned the aircraft," RVA director Emmanuel Mokoko told AFP.

Deputy governor of Orientale province, Autsai Asenga Medard, earlier said the Antonov, owned by private airline Galaxie, caught fire after apparently hitting a tree as it came in to land at about 0630 GMT.

"The weather was very bad at Isiro and that may be one of the reasons for the accident," Medard told AFP by telephone from the provincial centre, Kisangani.

The plane crashed 1.5 kilometres (about a mile) short of the runway after flying from Beni, a town in eastern Nord-Kivu province, Okapi radio reported.