Plane crash kills 19 in South Sudan, four survive

At least nineteen people on Sunday were killed, after a small commercial plane crashed into Lakes State in South Sudan’s Yirol, while four others, including two children were survived the crash, said sources.

The victims, include the pilot and co-pilot, a staff member of the Red Cross and an Anglican Bishop of Yirol, said the sources.

The aircraft was carrying 23 people from the capital, Juba, to the city of Yirol when it crashed, they said.

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Regional information minister for the Eastern Lakes state Taban Abel Aguek said the plane, carrying 23 people, had crashed in the central town of Yirol as it came in to land.

"The whole town is in shock, the shops are closed, some people have taken their relatives for burial. It is a commercial plane that crashed," Aguek said.

A government official and two army officers were also among the killed, it said.

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According to reports, the plane was a 19-seater, however it was not clear whether it includes the crew seats.

Overloading of planes are common in war-town South Sudan, and many of the aircraft incidents were believed to have contributed, including the 2015 crash of a Soviet-era Antonov plane upon take-off in Juba which left 36 people dead, said the sources.