JUBA, SOUTH SUDAN—A commercial plane crashed into a lake in South Sudan on Sunday and killed 20 people, a local official said.

The 19-seater commercial Baby Air plane had been travelling from the capital, Juba, the minister of information for the town of Yirol, Taban Abel Aguek, told The Associated Press.

Officials were investigating the cause of the crash.

Among the dead were at least three children and the bishop of Yirol, authorities said.

The three survivors are a 6-year-old child, an adult man and an Italian doctor with an aid organization who was in surgery and in serious condition, Aguek said.

“There were people everywhere,” the official said of the crash site.

Yirol is in the central part of the civil war-torn East African country.</s>JUBA (Reuters) - At least 19 people died in South Sudan on Sunday when a small aircraft carrying passengers from capital Juba to the city of Yirol crashed, an official said.

There were 22 people on board the flight that departed Juba International Airport in the morning, said State information Minister Taban Abel.

"The number (of dead) has reached 19," he told Reuters, adding that a Ugandan and Ethiopian national were among the victims. Abel had earlier said two people were missing.

One of the survivors, an Italian doctor working with a charity, was in stable condition and flown to Juba having undergone surgery in Yirol, the minister said.

The plane crashed by a river and an eyewitness had earlier said bodies were recovered from the water.

There were three children among the 22 passengers, another source said.

David Subek, Chief Executive officer of South Sudan Civil Aviation Authority in Juba, confirmed the crash and told Reuters he did not know the death toll yet.

Several crashes have occurred in war-torn South Sudan in recent years. In 2017, four passengers were injured after bad weather caused their plane to crash into a fire truck upon landing and burst into flames.

In 2015, dozens of people were killed when a Russian-built cargo plane with passengers on board crashed after taking off from the airport in Juba.</s>At least 17 people died in South Sudan on Sunday when a small aircraft carrying passengers from Juba International Airport to the city of Yirol crashed, State information Minister Taban Abel told Reuters.

“The plane crashed and killed 17 people and we have three survivors,” Abel told Reuters by phone from Yirol. The plane carried a total of 22 people and two were still missing.

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One of the survivors, an Italian doctor working with an NGO, is in critical condition and undergoing surgery in Yirol Hospital, the minister said.

The plane crashed by a river and an eye witness had earlier said bodies were recovered from the water.

There were three children among the 22 passengers, a source said.

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David Subek, Chief Executive officer of South Sudan Civil Aviation Authority in Juba, confirmed the crash and told Reuters he did not know the death toll yet.

Several crashes have occurred in war-torn South Sudan in recent years. In 2017, four passengers were injured after bad weather caused their plane to crash into a fire truck upon landing and burst into flames.

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In 2015, dozens of people were killed when a Russian-built cargo plane with passengers on board crashed after taking off from the airport in Juba.</s>Nineteen people were killed when a small passenger plane crashed into a lake as it tried to land in thick fog in central South Sudan, reports say.

Only four people, including two children, survived the crash, said government official Taban Abel Aguek.

The victims include the pilot and co-pilot, a staff member of the Red Cross and an Anglican bishop, he told AFP.

The aircraft was carrying 23 people from the capital, Juba, to the city of Yirol on Sunday.

“When it arrived the weather was so foggy and when it tried to land it crashed into Lake Yirol adjacent to Yirol town,” Mr Abel Aguek, the regional government minister, said.

“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,” he added.

Images posted on Twitter by Radio Miraya showed the twisted wreckage of the aircraft submerged in water as local fishermen used canoes to help with rescue and retrieval efforts.

In March last year, a plane travelling from Juba to Wau, in the north-west of the country, crashed with at least 40 people on board.

None of the passengers were killed but several were taken to hospital with serious injuries.</s>JUBA, South Sudan (AP) — 17 people killed when aircraft crashes into lake in South Sudan.</s>17 people killed when aircraft crashes into lake in South Sudan

JUBA, South Sudan (AP) — 17 people killed when aircraft crashes into lake in South Sudan.</s>JUBA, South Sudan (AP) — A local official says 17 people are dead after their aircraft crashed into a lake in South Sudan.

The minister of information for the town of Yirol, Taban Abel Aguek, tells The Associated Press that the 19-seater commercial Baby Air plane had been traveling from the capital, Juba.

Officials are investigating the cause of Sunday’s crash.

Aguek says the three survivors are a 6-year-old child, an adult man and a foreigner from Europe who is in surgery and in serious condition.

“There were people everywhere,” Aguek says of the crash site.

Yirol is in the central part of the civil war-torn East African country.</s>JUBA: A 19-seater plane crashed into a lake in the centre of South Sudan on Sunday, a regional official told AFP, adding "many on board are feared dead".

"We have not yet established full details of the airline but what we know it is a 19-seater plane coming from Juba to Yirol this morning," said regional information minister for the Eastern Great Lakes state Taban Abel Aguek.

"When it arrived the weather was so foggy and when it tried to land it crashed into Lake Yirol adjacent to Yirol town. It's so sad. Many people on board are feared dead. We are still establishing details," he said.

He said the Anglican Bishop of Yirol, Simon Adut, was confirmed among the dead.

The United Nations radio station Radio Miraya reported there were only three survivors, and posted a picture on its Twitter account of the twisted wreckage of the plane submerged in water.</s>JUBA: At least six people died in South Sudan on Sunday when a small aircraft carrying passengers from Juba International Airport to the city of Yirol crashed, an eye witness said.

"We are still removing bodies from the water because the aircraft fell into a river. So far, in front of me there are six bodies recovered from the water," the witness said, adding that the plane was believed to be carrying about 19 passengers.</s>At least six people died in South Sudan when a small aircraft carrying passengers from Juba International Airport to the city of Yirol crashed, a witness said.

"We are still removing bodies from the water because the aircraft fell into a river," the witness told Reuters news agency.

"So far, in front of me there are six bodies recovered from the water."

Other reports said up to 17 people were killed in the crashed.

Officials said they are investigating the cause of Sunday's crash.

"We have not yet established full details of the airline but what we know it is a 19-seater plane coming from Juba to Yirol this morning," Taban Abel Aguek, regional information minister for the Eastern Great Lakes state, told AFP news agency. 

 

 "When it arrived the weather was so foggy and when it tried to land it crashed... Its so sad. Many people on board are feared dead. We are still establishing details," he added.

Anglican Bishop of Yirol, Simon Adut, was confirmed among the dead, according to Abel.

Meanwhile, the United Nations radio station Radio Miraya reported there were only three survivors, and posted a picture on its Twitter account of the twisted wreckage of the plane submerged in water.
A small aircraft en route from Juba to Yirol crashes in South Sudan, killing 20 people, including the Episcopal Bishop of Yirol, and injuring three others.