Sudan minister survives helicopter crash

February 27, 2012 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese minister of agriculture, Abdel Halim al-Mutafi, has escaped certain death in a helicopter crash which killed three people on Monday.

Al-Mutafi emerged almost unscathed from the mishap which took place in Sudan’s eastern state of Al-Qadarif, where an Mi-17 helicopter carrying him along with six of his aides and two Iranian investors caught fire during take-off.

Official sources said that the minister and his entourage were on a trip to inspect agricultural projects in the state.

The minister appeared in good health as he was shown on Sudan’s national TV being evacuated from the site of the crash aboard an aircraft belonging to the ministry of interior.

In a statement following the incident, Al-Mut’afi recounted that the helicopter caught fire shortly after it took off, adding that those who survived managed to do so after they broke the helicopter’s windows.

However, he regrettably announced the death of his ministry’s director of agricultural research, Al-Tahir Sidiq, and spokesperson, Al-Rashid Issa, plus an aviation engineer working for Al-Raia al-Khadra Company from which the helicopter was chartered.

Sudan Tribune has learned that two of the dead bodies were completely burned while one body was taken to the capital Khartoum.

Meanwhile, a source close to Al-Raia al-Khadra Company was quoted by the Sudanese Media Center (SMC), a website linked to security services, that investigations were already under way to determine the causes of the incident.

(ST)