A cargo plane has crashed on take-off near the international airport in South Sudan’s capital Juba, with at least 25 people killed.There are fears the death toll may climb. A presidential spokesman told Reuters there were at least three survivors.It is not yet known how many were killed on the plane, or on the ground.
The Antonov An-12 plane was heading to Paloch, Upper Nile State, and crashed 800m (half a mile) from the runway. There are conflicting reports on the number of casualties, with Reuters quoting a police officer and a witness saying they had seen 41 bodies.
Presidential spokesman Ateny Wek Ateny told the news agency that the plane was carrying 18 people, including six crew members, and three of them – including a child – had survived.He suggested reports of a higher death toll could be down to some people being killed on the ground, adding that he had however not heard confirmation of this.
The head of the Civil Aviation at Juba airport said emergency officials had secured the site of the crash and were “in the stage of recovering bodies and black box”.”We cannot give you the exact number,” Stephen Warikozi added.
