KHARTOUM: Thirteen Sudanese military personnel were killed and nine others injured when their transport plane crashed west of Khartoum yesterday on its way to conflict-plagued Darfur, state media reported.
“Thirteen were killed instantly, and nine were taken to hospital,” army spokesman Sawarmi Khaled Saad was quoted as saying by the state SUNA news agency.
It is the worst toll in a series of Sudanese military aviation incidents since early 2011 and follows a recent surge of unrest in Darfur, the far-west region where a rebellion began nearly a decade ago.
Saad said the plane carried six crew and 16 other members of the armed forces. “The pilot informed the airport that he had a problem with one of his engines,” before the plane went down west of Jebel Aulia, Saad said earlier.
Debris was scattered across red desert sand charred black from the impact, a photograph taken at the scene showed.
The Antonov was carrying military equipment from Khartoum to El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state. A witness said a helicopter ferried the dead and injured from the crash scene, which had been sealed off by soldiers, about 70 km west of the capital.
Jebel Aulia is a popular recreational site about one hour’s drive south of the Khartoum area.
Sudan’s armed forces, which rely on Russian-made planes and helicopters, have suffered a number of aircraft losses in recent years. In July, Darfur rebels said they shot down an Mi17 helicopter, killing seven personnel from the military which blamed a malfunction for the incident.
Last December, all six crewmen aboard another military helicopter died when it crash-landed and burned in North Kordofan state. The army cited a technical problem, as it did in April 2011 when a helicopter went down in Darfur killing all five soldiers on board.
AFP
