 |
|
Initial images of the
plane crash site in #Juba #SouthSudan #JubaAirCrash @unmissmedia @TalkofJuba (Image source: UN-owned Radio Station)
|
The privately owned South Sudan Tribune says the five-member
Russian crew on the plane died in the crash. Reuters news agency reports that it was a
Russian-built cargo plane. Planes could still be
seen taking off and arriving at the airport in Juba on Wednesday as many people
gathered near the crash site about 1.6 km (1 mile ) from the airport,
Associated Press news agency reports.
The plane crashed into a
farming community on a small island in the White Nile river, close to Juba
airport, it reports.
An AFP reporter said at
least 25 people were killed Wednesday when a plane crash-landed shortly after
taking off from South Sudan's capital.
Police were pulling the
bodies of men, women and children out of the wreckage of the cargo plane, which
crashed into a small farming community on a small island in the White Nile
river, close to airport, the reporter said, who counted at least 25 dead.
"Cargo plane heading
to Paloch in Upper Nile State crashed just 800 metres from Juba International
Airport runway," reported Radio Miraya, a UN-backed station.
The radio said as many as
40 people were feared dead, adding that airport officials had told them only
three passengers had survived.
The main fuselage of the
plane had ploughed into thick woodland, with debris scattered around the
riverbank in a wide area.
Several small farming
communities live on the island, and it was not clear if some of the victims
were people who were on the ground when the plane hit.
Media reports said it was
an Antonov transport plane, but there was no immediate official confirmation.
Cargo planes to remote parts of often carry passengers too.
Radmir Gainanov,
spokesman for 's diplomatic mission in , which also oversees , said the embassy
was in touch with local authorities, including the defence ministry.
"We are clarifying
details," he told AFP from South Sudan's airport is the busiest
in the war-torn country, which is the size of and combined but with few tarred
roads.
The airport hosts regular
commercial flights, as well as a constant string of military aircraft and cargo
planes delivering aid to remote regions cut off by road.
Civil war broke out in
December 2013 when President accused his former deputy of planning a coup,
setting off a cycle of retaliatory killings that has split the
poverty-stricken, landlocked country along ethnic lines.
Fighting continues despite
an August peace deal, but battles today are far from the capital. |
| (Image source: UN-owned Radio Station) |
No comments:
Post a Comment