Russian cargo plane crashes in South Sudan; at least 36 dead

Jessica Estepa | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Russian-made cargo plane crashes in South Sudan The plane crashed shortly after taking off from Juba International Airport, killing nearly everyone on board.

A Soviet-built cargo plane crashed along a riverbank shortly after takeoff Wednesday from Juba airport in South Sudan, killing at least 36 people, according to media reports.

There were conflicting reports as to whether the dead included people on the ground or extra passengers who were allowed on the plane without being listed on the manifest.

The Antonov plane, which was en route to the Paloich oil fields in Upper Nile state, was registered in Tajikistan and belonged to Allied Services Limited, said Ateny Wek Ateny, a spokesman for South Sudanese President Salva Kiir. The plane crashed beside the White Nile River, a tributary of the Nile, about a mile from the airport.

Kuong Danhier Gatluak, South Sudan's minister for transportation, and Maju Hilary of the South Sudan Red Cross, confirmed that 36 people were killed in the crash, the Associated Press reported. In addition, one infant was clinging to life, authorities said.

Among the dead were six of the plane's crewmembers — five Armenians and a Russian, according to Tigran Mkrtchian, a spokesman for the Armenian Foreign Ministry.

Authorities said it was not immediately clear how many people were on the plane until they receive a passenger manifest.

Kenyi Galla, assistant operations manager for Combined Air Services, a company that operates chartered flights across South Sudan, said it is common for security forces to put family members on cargo planes to Paloich even if they are not on the manifest, the AP reported.

Bashir Yashin, who saw the plane come down, said it initially seemed like the plane might crash into a market area before the pilot apparently diverted it, the AP reported. Another witness, Angelo Kenyi, said a child, who looked no more than a year old, and an elderly woman were pulled from the fuselage.

Parts of the plane were scattered in a bushy area on the banks of the Nile with a few homes nearby. Packages of cheap sandals, cigarettes, beer and crackers were strewn amid the wreckage. The white tail section protruded from the brush.

Russian television channel LifeNews quoted an unnamed source at the Russian aviation agency as saying that the Antonov-12 plane, made in the Soviet Union in 1971, appeared to have been overloaded. There has been no official reaction from Russian authorities so far.

Wreckage was strewn on the east side of the Nile River, the AP said.

Ateny said the plane was en route to the Paloch oil fields South Sudan's Upper Nile state, according to AP.