South Sudan plane crash: Dozens killed near Jubaairport

A cargo plane has crashed on take-off near the
international airport in South Sudan's capital Juba,
killing at least 36 people.
South Sudan's transport minister says two people were
found alive, but one of them later died. Earlier an official
had said there were 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.
Transport Minister Kuong Danhier Gatluak told AP that
36 people were confirmed dead.
But a police officer and eyewitness told Reuters they had
seen 41 bodies.
'No exact number'
Presidential spokesman Ateny Wek Ateny said the plane
was carrying 18 people, including six crew members. All
of the passengers were from South Sudan, he added.
He also said that three people, including a child, had
survived the crash, but Mr Gatluak later told AP that only
two people had been found alive and one of them, the
adult, later died.
Mr Ateny suggested reports of a higher death toll could
be down to some people being killed on the ground,
adding that he had not yet had 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.
Mr Ateny said five of the six crew members were
Armenian, while the sixth member was Russian.
Armenia's foreign ministry has confirmed that five of its
nationals were killed.
While it is not yet clear what caused the crash, the
presidential spokesman told a news conference that it
may have been down to engine failure.
Police were seen pulling the bodies of men, women and
children from the wreckage of the plane, with debris and
cargo strewn over a wide area along a bank of the White
Nile River.
'Landed near my door'
The plane struck a farming community on an island on
the river.
A man who saw the plane come down told AP he
thought the plane might crash into a market area, but
the pilot seemed to divert it at the last minute.
Another witness said he saw a child and elderly woman
pulled out alive from the wreckage.
Meanwhile, a local farmer has described the moment the
plane started to go down, telling AFP: "The sound was
so loud... the plane started descending and landed near
my door."
"One of the tyres broke off and ran into the house - but
thank God it did not injure anyone."
Mr Ateny said the plane was heading towards the Paloch
oil fields in the north of the country.
Cargo planes to remote parts of South Sudan often carry
passengers too.
The plane's first flight was in 1971, the Aviation Safety
Network reported. It was being operated by Allied
Services Limited, a logistics company based in South
Sudan, at the time of the crash.
However, the plane belonged to the Tajik company Asia
Airways, Tajikistan's Transport Ministry told the
Ozodagon news agency.
The Antonov State Company, which built the plane, is a
Ukrainian aircraft manufacturing company.
                                             
                                                                 BBC