Abdel Hafiz Abdel Rahim, a spokesman for Sudan's Civil
Aviation Authority said the Russian-built Antonov 26 crashed at the Zalingei
airstrip, splitting in half from the impact.
“Thank God most of the passengers have survived,” he told
the Associated Press.
The plane from Tarco Airline was on a scheduled flight from
Khartoum.
Abdel Rahim said the cause of the crash was under
investigation but noted that the airstrip was rudimentary and badly paved.
“It is all sand and pebbles and not well prepared to receive
such planes,” he said.
Tarco Airline is one of several small airline companies
operating in Sudan that often use pilots from the former Soviet Union.
Sudan has a poor aviation safety record.
In May 2008, a plane crash in a remote area of southern
Sudan killed 24 people, including key members of the southern Sudanese
government. In July 2003, a Sudan Airways Boeing 737 en route from Port Sudan
to Khartoum crashed soon after takeoff, killing all 115 people on board.
A large number of jet accidents occurred on landing.
