...as plane carrying supplies crashes

One crew member was killed and three others injured when their plane, chartered to carry relief materials from Juba to Bentiu in the northern part of the country, crashed into parked vehicles during landing.

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM), which chartered the plane, said this in a statement in Khartoum on Tuesday. IOM said that the cargo plane’s wings clipped two vehicles parked on the runway, causing a fire outbreak.

It said that one crew member from the charter company was killed and three others were injured, adding that the wounded crew members have been evacuated to Juba.

“We are very saddened by this tragic accident. “The members of the air crew have been vital in helping aid to reach some of South Sudan’s most vulnerable people,” IOM South Sudan Chief of Mission David Derthick was quoted as saying.

The organisation said that it began an air operation on Jan. 31 to deliver aid to displaced persons in parts of South Sudan most seriously affected by the ongoing crisis, including the towns of Malakal, Bor and Bentiu.

It said that the flights carried water, hygiene and sanitation equipment, medicine, shelter materials and relief supplies including blankets, kitchen sets, soap, buckets and mosquito nets. Fighting broke in South Sudan almost three months ago between the central government and government opposition led by former Vice President Riek Machar, leaving hundreds dead and thousands displaced.

The two sides are currently engaged in negotiations, under the auspices of the African Union. (PANA/NAN).