Yesterday, five people were found dead following the South Sudan plane crash. A Soviet-era Antonov An-26 small freight plane operated by Optimum Aviation crashed shortly after taking off from Juba International Airport. The plane was carrying 28 fuel barrels for the United Nations World Food Programme, to the Maban region, home to about 100,000 refugees.
According to airport officials, the victims were crew members hauling gasoline drums to Maban County in Upper Nile State. He also stated that police are looking into the incident.
On transporting the fuel cargo by air, the official stated the country lacks reliable ground transportation infrastructure because of a decade of devastating strife. As a result, the shipment had to be transported by air.
According to the South Sudan Civil Aviation Authority, David Subek, one fatality was a South Sudanese, two Sudanese, and two Ukrainians.
The cargo jet belonged to a local operator. Kur Kuol, the airport’s director, stated the plane hit a tree and caught fire, and the passengers burned severely. According to the Sudan Red Cross, the bodies were burned beyond recognition.
This is not the first time South Sudan is facing plane crushes.
The incident happened after President Salva Kiir ordered the suspension of a South Sudan Supreme Airlines flight that crashed in Jonglei, the country’s eastern region. After taking off from Pieri, the plane crashed, killing ten passengers, including the pilots.
A plane owned by a local company called South West Aviation crashed in August last year, killing four passengers and three crew members. The jet was transporting money to the Wau region for the Juba-based opportunity bank.
In 2015, an Antonov plane crashed in Juba, killing about 36 people. In 2017, there was a plane crash and 37 people nearly escaped. The plane erupted into flames in the Wau region when it collided with a fire vehicle on a runway.
