South Sudan plane crash leaves 40 dead

Not les than 20 people were reportedly killed in a plane crash involving a Russian-built plane shortly after it took off from an airport in South Sudan. Three passengers reportedly survived.

The tail fin of the Russian-built plane and other parts were seen scattered along the banks of the White Nile river near the airport in Juba, the capital, on Wednesday.

Witnesses said they counted at least 40 bodies at the crash site.

The director of Juba International airport said “three people survived the crash,” while local news outlets reported that only two people survived, one of them a child.

A police officer near the scene, who did not give his name, also said there were two survivors, including a child, but could not say how many people were on board.

The aircraft was a cargo plane with five Russian crew and seven passengers, South Sudan Tribune, a local media outlet, said on Twitter. It also said two people survived, one of them a child.