UPDATE - 7 killed as plane crashes in South Sudan

UPDATES WITH CASUALTIES, QUOTES FROM TRANSPORT MINISTER

By Benjamin Takpiny

JUBA, South Sudan (AA) - A cargo plane hired by the UN food agency crashed in South Sudan’s capital on Saturday morning, killing seven people and injuring one more, the country’s transport minister said.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency over the phone, Madut Yel Biar said five passengers and three crew were on board the Antonov An-26 cargo plane.

The aircraft, which crashed into a farm in the Referendum residential area minutes after taking off from the Juba International Airport, was en route to Wau and Aweil towns.

The minister said identities of the victims are yet to be ascertained, adding a pilot of the plane was a foreign national, without revealing more details.

Earlier, Kur kuol, the director of Juba International Airport, told Anadolu Agency that eight people were on board the plane that belongs to South West Aviation.