According to the reports on Thursday (30 January), a small aircraft carrying oil workers crashed on takeoff from an oilfield airport in South Sudan’s Unity State, killing 20 people. The plane was en route to the capital, Juba, when it went down, according to regional information minister Gatwech Bipal. The initial death toll was reported as 18, but two survivors later died, leaving only one survivor.
The passengers were employees of the Greater Pioneer Operating Company (GPOC), a consortium that includes China National Petroleum Corporation and Nile Petroleum Corporation. Among the victims were two Chinese nationals and one Indian. President Salva Kiir confirmed that engineers and technical staff were among the deceased and pledged a thorough investigation to determine the cause of the crash.
Bipal did not provide further details on the circumstances of the crash. However, South Sudan has a history of fatal air accidents in recent years. In 2018, a small aircraft traveling from Juba to Yirol crashed, killing at least 19 people.
In 2015, a Russian-built cargo plane carrying passengers crashed shortly after taking off from Juba airport, resulting in dozens of deaths. These repeated incidents highlight ongoing concerns about aviation safety in the war-torn nation.
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