A plane crashed on Wednesday (Nov 4) shortly after taking off from an airport in South Sudan, killing 10 people on board, a police officer and local media reported.
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An Associated Press reporter near the crash scene said the plane’s wreckage is strewn on the east side of the River Nile, but it is not clear if it is a cargo plane or a passenger jet. There were only two survivors including a child and a crew member. Asked about figures suggesting a higher toll, he said it could be people killed on the ground but said he had no indication about any such deaths. But witnesses and first responders said no one had been present in the swampy farm plot when the plane came down. The flight was not chartered by his company, Mr Galla said.
“Normally (this flight) used to carry 12 people, but the problem is they added more people”, he said. “It was just chartered for goods”.
“We have secured the site of crash and also we are in the stage of recovering bodies and black box”, he said.
It is unclear how many of those were on the plane and how were on the ground.
An unnamed source at the Russian aviation agency said the plane appeared to have been overloaded.
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The cause of the crash might have been engine failure, Ateny said, although he cautioned this had not been confirmed. Rebels and government forces have been battling for control of the state, but Juba, the capital, has been peaceful recently. Fighting persists despite a peace agreement signed in August.
