KHARTOUM: Thirteen Sudanese military personnel died and nine others were 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,” Sawarmi Khaled Saad, the Sudanese army spokesman, was quoted as saying by the state SUNA news agency.
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 in the desert west of Jebel Aulia, Saad told AFP earlier.
Saad added that 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.
