Cargo Plane Crashes in Sudan, Seven Crew Killed

Sudanese radio said the dead included six Russians. It described the aircraft as a U.N. plane on its way to Port Sudan on the Red Sea coast.

"It was a cargo plane coming with goods. Before it could land in Khartoum it crashed … Seven crew members were killed — six foreigners and one Sudanese," Fartak told Reuters.

The plane, coming from Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates and probably carrying aid, was due to land in Khartoum before heading on to Nyala in South Darfur state, he said. It belonged to a private Sudanese company called Air West, he added.

The plane crashed around 9 a.m. (1 a.m. EST) about 30 miles outside the capital in the desert. Rescue and investigation teams were at the site.

In May last year 14 people including 12 children died in an aid plane crash in southern Sudan. In July 2003 a Sudan Airways plane crashed near Port Sudan, killing 115 people.