Antonov plane crash death toll rises to seven

KHARTOUM, June 5, 2005 (Sudan Tribune) — The death toll from the Russian-built Antonov plane, which crashed on take-off from Khartoum airport last Thursday 2 June, has risen to seven people.

A Russian-built Antonov passenger plane which crashed at Khartoum airport in Khartoum, Sudan on Thursday, June 2, 2005. (AP) .

An Antonov passenger plane crashed on Thursday when it aborted take-off in the Sudanese capital, killing at least five people and injuring two others, Sudanese aviation officials said.

Three of the people died on the spot during the accident while the rest died one after the other. An air hostess Mulhamah Mohamed Ahmad died this morning from the injuries.

Two of those who were injured during the accident are still recuperating in the intensive care unit while six others are being kept at the hospital with minor injuries.

The Russian-built Antonov operated by the commercial airline Marsland was headed from the capital, Khartoum, to El Fashir, capital of Northern Darfur, carrying 36 passengers and 6 crew, officials said. Two of the crew were Russian; the other four and all the passengers were Sudanese.

Sudan has a poor aviation safety record. In February a Russian-built cargo plane crashed outside Khartoum, killing the crew of seven. In July 2003, a Sudan Airways Boeing 737 en route from Port Sudan to Khartoum crashed soon after takeoff, killing all 115 people on board.