Plane crashes into river in South Sudan, 17 people killed

"The plane crashed and killed 17 people, 3 people survived",Reutersquoted the South Sudanese Information Minister as saying today. One survivor is a doctor from Italy, working for an NGO. He was seriously injured and is undergoing surgery at Yori Hospital.

The plane was en route from Juba International Airport, the capital of South Sudan, to Yirol, a city in the central part of the country. The plane crashed into a river and, according to witnesses, several bodies were brought to shore. Among the victims were three children.

South Sudanese authorities are investigating the cause of the crash. There have been several plane crashes in South Sudan in recent years. Last year, a plane landing in bad weather crashed into a fire truck and burst into flames, injuring four people. In 2015, a Russian transport plane crashed after taking off from Juba airport, killing dozens.