Plane crash in South Sudan kills 20: state minister

A small aircraft carrying oil workers crashed in South Sudan's Unity State on Wednesday, killing 20 people, an official said.

The plane went down at the Unity oilfield airport in the morning while en route to the capital, Juba, said Information Minister Gatwech Bipal.

The passengers were employees of Greater Pioneer Operating Company, a consortium that includes China National Petroleum Corporation and Nile Petroleum Corporation.

Among the dead were two Chinese nationals and one Indian, Bipal said. Only one person survived the crash.

The cause remains unknown. Initial reports put the death toll at 18, but officials later confirmed two survivors had died.

South Sudan has seen multiple air disasters in recent years. In 2018, 19 people died in a crash near Yirol. In 2015, a Russian-built cargo plane crashed in Juba, killing dozens.