Africa

24 killed in Sudanese plane crash

Article published on the 2008-05-03 Latest update 2008-05-03 17:00 TU

South Sudan's vice-president Riek Machar
(Photo : AFP)

Twenty-four people, including the defence minister for South Sudan, have been killed in an aeroplane crash in the African state, believed to be caused by technical reasons. Dominic Dim, a minister for the Southern People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), died when the aircraft went down Diek Machar, South Sudan's vice-president, said.

Officials said Justin Yak, a presidential adviser for local government affairs, was also on the aeroplane that crashed near Rumbek, in the remote Bahr al-Gazal region, on Friday.

Gabriel Changson Chan, the southern Sudanese minister of information, said an investigation is planned, but that initial evidence indicates engine failure caused the crash.

"So far, we believe the cause of the crash is due to a technical failure with the engine of the plane," he said.

The plane's captain contacted the airport tower to report engine trouble and request an emergency landing. It crashed before reaching the airport.

Both the United Nations and United States have expressed condolences over the deaths of the government officials.

"This human tragedy represents a great loss to all Sudanese as they strive to recover from decades of war," the U.S. Embassy in Sudan said in a statement.

Southern Sudan has its own semiautonomous government following a peace deal three years ago that ended more than two decades of civil war between the ethnic African south and Sudan's Arab-dominated government in the capital, Khartoum. The war has claimed an estimated 2.2 million lives.