Sudan minister, 30 officials killed in plane blast

Sudan's Minister of Guidance and Endowments Ghazi Sadeq Abdul Rahim. He was among 31 people killed on August 19, 2012 in a chopper crash at war-torn South Kordofan state. Photo/AFP

What you need to know:

  • Sudanese government's religion minister Ghazi al-Sadiq Abdel Rahim killed in a plane crash
  • Civilian aircraft, carrying some 31 people, came down in the Nuba Mountains
  • Plane was on its way to South Kordofan for an Eid al-Fitr celebration

The Sudanese government's religion minister Ghazi al-Sadiq Abdel Rahim has been killed in a plane crash, Sudanese television says.

The civilian aircraft, carrying some 31 people, came down in the Nuba Mountains. A delegation of military and political representatives was on board.

"All people on board were killed," Mr Abdelhafiz Abdelrahim, spokesman for the Sudan Aviation Authority, told news agency AFP.

Mr Abdelrahim said the plane was landing in Talodi town at about 8:00 am (0500 GMT) when "an explosion was heard and the plane was destroyed."

This was not immediately verifiable independently.

The official SUNA news agency issued a brief alert which said only: "A plane with 26 passengers, including ministers, crashed near Talodi."

The plane was on its way to South Kordofan for an Eid al-Fitr celebration, to mark the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

The television statement said weather prevented the plane from landing first time round. On its second attempt, the plane hit a mountain.

Talodi has been a key battleground in the war which began in June last year between the government and ethnic rebels of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N).