UN helicopter crashes yards from Juba International Airport

An official says the UN helicopter which cashed-landed in Juba on Wednesday morning was carrying government officials who were on a mission to Jonglei State.

The plane crashed in the swarmpy area near Jebel Aviation Warehouse, northwest of the airport.

The 12 government officials and four crew members were en route to Bor town and Guil of Ayod County when the plane forced-landed shortly after taking off.

“The plane just forced landed just less than two minutes,” Kur Kuol Ajieu, the director of Juba International Airport confirms the accident to Eye Radio Wednesday evening.

“I think they were on a government mission where they were supposed to go to Guil after taking off from Bor and then back to Juba, but it crash-landed in less than one minute even,” he said.

Altyeib Ajang Okeec, the Upper Nile State Security Advisor, and Ismail Adowk, a former Commissioner of Manyo County are among the officials.

All of them are unhurt, but the plane suffered minor damage.

“The passengers are all safe including the crew, and the plane actually did not get full damage but just slight damage,”  he said.

Kuol said a joint investigation team between the civil aviation authority and the UN will be formed to establish the cause of the incident.

Airplane crashes are often reported in South Sudan, a situation attributed to the use of outdated aircraft as well as overloading airplanes.