A state governor and his entourage comprising of some local government officials today were reported killed in a plane crash.
The sad incident happened in Gadaref State in eastern Sudan.
The state news agency Suna reported that among the victims of the Sunday air mishap was the governor of Gadaref, near the border with Ethiopia.
Also said to have been aboard the ill-fated plane were the Gadaref State Agriculture minister and senior security officials.
Gadaref State authorities on Sunday confirmed the accident in a statement but did not give more details.
According to a local TV station, Alshoroog TV the governor and his entourage were on a security inspection trip.
“The chopper crashed while the pilot tried to land at Galabt airport,” Alshorroq TV reported.
Meanwhile, the civil aviation authorities in Khartoum, the Sudanese capital city declined when reached for a comment.
According to reports, most of Sudan’s military and civilian fleet consist of old Soviet-made aircraft, and the country has suffered a series of crashes in recent years, with the military frequently blaming technical problems and bad weather.
In October, eight people were injured in a collision between two Sudanese army planes on the runway at Khartoum airport.
Earlier in September, two pilots were killed when their military jet crashed near Omdurman, Khartoum’s twin city on the west bank of the Nile.
That accident came days after a military helicopter crashed and caught fire on landing in Darfur, though all passengers were rescued.
