New Delhi: An Indian national was among 20 people killed in a plane crash in South Sudan on Wednesday, reported AFP.
The small plane crashed while it was taking off near an oil field to fly to the international airport in Juba, the South Sudanese capital.
According Gatwech Bipal, the minister of information in the oil-rich Unity state of the East African country, said that the flight was chartered by Chinese oil firm Greater Pioneer Operating Company (GPOC) and had 21 people on board, including two pilots.
“21 people were on board… there’s only one survivor,” the minister informed, adding that the aircraft crashed 500 metres from the airport.
Local authorities confirmed that all passengers were employees of GPOC — 16 South Sudanese, two Chinese nationals and 1 Indian.
The lone survivor, a South Sudanese engineer working at the oil field, is undergoing treatment in a state hospital.
Authorities have not yet revealed identities of the victims.
Air accidents are common in South Sudan, which gained independence from Sudan in 2011.
In 2021, five people were killed after a cargo plane carrying fuel for the UN’s World Food Programme crashed near Juba.
Overloading was believed to have contributed to the 2015 crash of an Antonov plane in Juba, killing 36 people.
In 2017, 37 people had a miraculous escape after their plane hit a fire truck on a runway in Wau before bursting into flames.
