Dozens of people were feared dead after a passenger plane crashed at an airport in Wau, South Sudan, and then caught fire.

The South Sudanese National Courier newspaper carried photos showing the burned-out wreck of the plane on the tarmac at Wau Airport.

Initial reports suggested as many as 44 people had died in the crash.

However, the manager of South Supreme Airlines told the National Courier there were no casualties.

He said all of the passengers were evacuated from the plane before it was destroyed by the fire.

An aid worker near the scene of the crash told Reuters: "No one died but there are a number of injured people right now."

Forty-four passengers were on board the plane belonging to South Supreme Airlines, officials at the carrier told journalists.

"About 17 to 18 people injured in the incident were taken to hospital," James Dimo Deng, a journalist in Wau, told Reuters.

Photos from the scene show fire engines dousing the smouldering wreckage with water.