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Sudan: Minister and several politicians, officials perish in plane crash
A cabinet minister was among 32 politicians, generals and others killed on Sunday when a plane crashed on its way to Sudan’s troubled South Kordofan state for the start of Muslim holidays, state media said.
“All people on board were killed” as the aircraft flew in for the Eid holidays which mark the end of the Ramadan fasting month, Abdelhafiz Abdelrahim, spokesman for the Sudan Aviation Authority, told reporters.
The most senior official among the dead was Khartoum’s Guidance and Endowments Minister Ghazi Al-Saddiq, tasked with religious affairs, the official SUNA news agency said, reporting that 26 passengers and six crew were on board.
Speaking on official Radio Omdurman, Culture and Information Minister Ahmed Bilal Osman said the plane “crashed into a hill” because of bad weather, killing the entire delegation.
Abdelrahim said the Antonov plane was landing in Talodi town at about 8:00 am (midnight EST) when “an explosion was heard and the plane was destroyed.”
Accidents are common among Sudan’s ageing fleet of aircraft.
At least 30 people died when a Sudan Airways jet burst into flames on landing in Khartoum in 2008.
It was not immediately clear which firm operated Sunday’s ill-fated plane. SUNA said six crew members died in the crash but it gave neither their names nor their nationalities.
The other victims included two top officials — Khartoum’s state minister for youth and sport, and the state minister of tourism, as well as the education minister for the Khartoum area, SUNA said.
Ten victims, including three generals, were from the security forces, it added.
Also killed was the chief of the small Justice political party, a correspondent for state television, three others identified as “media”, the head of Khartoum North municipality, a member of parliament, and other officials.
Heavy rains have been reported in South Kordofan recently.
The dead minister, Saddiq, took on the guidance and endowments portfolio, among whose duties is religious issues, during a July cabinet reshuffle which trimmed the number of ministries.
Prior to the reshuffle he had been minister of tourism and antiquities since December.
Copyright 2012 AFP.