Ten people including eight passengers and two pilots lost their lives after South Supreme Airlines flight HK-4274 bound for the capital Juba took off from the town of Pieri in Jonglei state and crashed, said Denay Jock Chagor, Anadolu Agency reported.
“Our prayers are with their families and loved ones. On my own behalf and on behalf of the people of Jonglei state and the nation, I share this condolence message with the affected families and friends in these hours of grief,” Chagor said in a condolence message released by his office.
“It was with great shock and horror to receive the news of the plane crash of South Supreme Airlines that happened, the 2nd day of March 2021 at around 5 p.m. at Pieri Airstrip,” he added.
Earlier in the day, Kur Kuol, the director of Juba International Airport, spoke with Anadolu Agency by phone.
"News reaching us indicates that a commercial plane has crashed in the town of Pieri in Jonglei state while setting off for Juba,” Kuol said.
He said the South Supreme Airlines flight went down immediately after taking off at 5 p.m. local time (1500GMT).
The plane crashed in a region where there is no network coverage, so it was difficult to confirm the exact number of casualties, he added.
This is the second such incident reported involving an aircraft operated by the regional airline. The first occurred in 2017 when a South Supreme Airlines plane caught fire and made a crash landing, but there were no fatalities.
South Supreme Airlines could not be reached for comment on the latest incident.
RHM/PR