17 killed as plane crashes after takeoff from Juba airport

At least 17 people were killed when a cargo plane crashed after takeoff from the Juba International Airport in South Sudan on Saturday morning.

Joseph Mayom, assistant professor at Upper Nile University told Xinhua by phone that a passenger who survived the incident was rushed to hospital in critical condition.

"According to what I have witnessed, one person was rescued after screaming in pain and was immediately taken to the hospital. We have counted 15 people and two crew members, bringing the total to 17," Mr Mayom said.

He said the cargo plane belonging to South West Aviation crashed near the Hai Referendum residential area in Juba.

It was still burning as the crowd scrambled over scattered cash, he said.

Cargo manifest

Kur Kuol, director of Juba International Airport, confirmed the 9am crash, saying the plane was en route to Aweil and Wau to deliver staff salaries for an organisation.

"There are no more details I can give you right now but what I know is that it was a cargo plane. There were no more people onboard," Mr Kuol told Xinhua.

The director said airport authorities did not have the exact number of people who died or survived but that details would be given later.

"The cargo manifest is in front of me now and the items listed are salaries, motorcycles, tyres, batteries, fruits, spare parts and food items. The names and number of the crew members were excluded," he said.

He said aviation authorities would investigate the cause of the accident.

Past incident

In 2018, a plane belonging to South West Company crashed in eastern Lakes Regions in South Sudan, killing 17 people on board.

Following the incident, South Sudanese President Salva Kiir in April 2019 banned planes spanning 20 years of service from transporting people, limiting them to cargo in a bid to curtail air accidents.