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3 Indians among 115 killed in Sudan air crash

Khartoum, July 8
A Sudanese airliner crashed early today in eastern Sudan, killing all but one of the 116 persons aboard, including a senior military officer and three Indians, officials said.

A baby was the sole survivor of the Sudan Airways Boeing 737 accident, which occurred shortly after take-off from Port Sudan on the Red Sea bound for the capital Khartoum, airline and government officials said.

Jalal Mahmud al-Ajab, a senior Sudan Airways official, identified the dead officer as Maj-Gen Nural-Hoda Fadlallah, head of Sudan’s air defence forces based in Port Sudan.

Ajab also said three Indians, one Briton, a Chinese, an Ethiopian, and a UAE national also died in the crash. The nationality of an eighth foreigner killed was not immediately known.

There was no immediate confirmation of the deaths from the respective embassies. “All of the dead, including the foreigners, were buried at the scene,” said Ajab, who listed the crash as a pure accident.

A Sudanese government spokesman said the plane’s pilot reported technical problems about 10 minutes after taking off from Port Sudan.

The plane crashed on a strip of land near the Red Sea coast, about 18 km from the airport, Abdel Hamid Abdeen said. — AFP