A Sudanese cargo plane exploded while preparing to land at Wau airport in southern Sudan, killing all 13 aboard, state-run Omdurman radio repoted on Tuesday.
The Antonov 12 was carrying food and money on a routine flight late on Monday afternoon from Khartoum, and after obtaining permission to land, it exploded in the air about 6km from Wau airport, it said.
The plane was owned by the private Khartoum-based Saria Airlines company.
The company’s general manager, Mohamed Abdel Qadir, said the explosion killed all on board — six foreign crewmen, three security officials, a Bank of Sudan official, a Saria engineer, a security policeman and a military policeman.
One of the security officials was a woman.
The crew was made up of four Armenians, a Russian and an Uzbek, the Saria chief said.
He added that the plane was carrying commercial foods and an unspecified amount of money that was to be delivered by the central Bank of Sudan to its branch there.
The general manager said the reason for the crash remains unknown, pending an investigation.
The Civil Aviation Authority, for its part, formed a team of investigators that is due to leave for Wau, in Bahr al-Ghazal state, on Tuesday to investigate the cause of the crash, the official radio said. — Sapa-AFP
SPLA denies involvement