At least 3 officers killed in military plane crash in Sudan

A Sudanese military plane crashed in the White Nile south of the capital, Khartoum, killing all on board, authorities said on Friday.

Authorities retrieved three bodies of officers, including a lieutenant colonel, the prime minister’s office said in a statement.

Search efforts were still ongoing for others who were on board when the plane crashed near al-Shegilab on Wednesday, according to the statement.

No further details were released, including how many people were on board.

The crash was the latest involving a military plane in Sudan, where aircraft crashes are common mostly due to poor aviation safety records.

An Apache attack helicopter loaded with weapons and ammunition crashed in January, shortly after taking off from an airport on the eastern borders with Ethiopia. The three-person crew survived that crash.

At least 16 people, including two women and two children, were killed in January last year when a military plane, a Russian Antonov An-12, crashed in the restive West Darfur region.

In 2003, a civilian Sudan Airways plane crashed into a hillside while trying to make an emergency landing, killing 116 people, including eight foreigners. Only a small boy survived the crash.