South Sudanese officials indicate that the crash of a chartered aircraft departing an oil field has resulted in 20 fatalities, with a single survivor.
Ruweng Administrative Area information minister Simon Chol Mialith says the aircraft – which appears to be a Beech 1900D – had been chartered by Greater Pioneer Operating Company.
GPOC is a consortium of oil interests.
Mialith says the aircraft came down shortly after taking off from the Unity oil field, in the far north of the country, close to the border with Sudan.
He adds that the sole survivor is in critical condition.
Images broadcast by the South Sudanese television network SSBC, purporting to show the site of the accident, indicate that the 1900D was registered 5X-RHB.
This identifies the aircraft as being Ugandan-registered.
While the operator has yet to be confirmed, the 1900D is listed by Entebbe-based Eagle Air as being part of its fleet.
Circumstances of the accident have yet to be confirmed.
