Sudan Air Crash - At Least 28 Dead
At least 28 people have died in a major accident involving an Airbus A310 at Khartoum International Airport in Sudan.
According to reports, the Sudan Airways A310 - which had just arrived from Amman, Jordan - burst into flames after landing at Khartoum.
Officials say the flight had 203 passengers and 14 crew aboard.
Latest reports say 28 people are confirmed dead, with 66 missing. The other 123 people survived the accident.
TV pictures showed emergency services fighting a fierce blaze in the darkness, with the fire mainly focused on the aircraft's fuselage.
Conflicting Reports over Sudan Air Crash
There are conflicting reports over precisely how the Sudan air crash unfolded.
Sudan's transport minister, Mabrouk Mubarak Salim, informed journalists that the aircraft had veered off the runway, split into two sections and burst into flames.
However, Khartoum Airport's director, Youssef Ibrahim, said the aircraft had "landed safely" and that the aircraft was awaiting taxiway instructions when the incident occurred.
Ibrahim said: "At this moment, [we believe that] one of the plane's engines exploded and the plane caught fire".
The airport director's version of how the crash unfolded seems to be borne out by survivor accounts.
One survivor told Sudanese TV that the landing was "rough", while another said there had been "explosion in the right wing" a few minutes after the aircraft had landed.
What is known is that poor weather was affecting Khartoum at the time. Indeed, the aircraft's landing at Khartoum had been delayed by a dust storm and heavy rain.
Sudan Air Safety Record
Sudan has a poor air safety record. Just last month, 24 people - including members of the Sudanese government - were killed in a plane crash in the remote south of the country.
Back in July 2003, 115 people were killed when a Sudan Airways Boeing 737 crashed shortly after take-off en route to Khartoum from Port Sudan.
Source - Airport International's Aviation Correspondent
