10 killed as commercial plane crashes in South Sudan

JUBA, South Sudan: At least 10 people lost their lives including two pilots after a commercial plane crashed in South Sudan on late Tuesday.

Eight passengers and two pilots were killed in the South Supreme Airlines flight HK-4274 plane crash incident that took place in South Sudan which took-off from Pieri town of Jonglei state, Anadolu Agency quoted governor Denay Jock Chagor, adding that the flight was bound for the capital Juba.

The governor said in a condolence message, “Our prayers are with their families and loved ones. On my own behalf and on behalf of the people of Jonglei state and the nation, I share this condolence message with the affected families and friends in these hours of grief.”

“It was with great shock and horror to receive the news of the plane crash of South Supreme Airlines that happened today, the 2nd day of March 2021 at around 5 p.m. at Pieri Airstrip,” he added.

The director of Juba International Airport told the news agency that the reports indicate that a commercial plane has crashed in the town of Pieri in Jonglei state while setting off for Juba.

He said the South Supreme Airlines flight went down immediately after taking off at 5 p.m. local time (1500GMT).

The plane crashed in a region where there is no network coverage, so it was difficult to confirm the exact number of casualties, he added.

This is the second such incident reported involving an aircraft operated by the regional airline.

The first occurred in 2017 when a South Supreme Airlines plane caught fire and made a crash landing, but there were no fatalities.

South Supreme Airlines could not be reached for comment on the latest incident.