South Sudan’s senior presidential special envoy has survived a car crash in which three of his bodyguards sustained injuries, a local official said.

 Northern Bahr el Ghazal state information minister, William Anyuon Kuol, told Radio Tamazuj on Wednesday that senior presidential special envoy Dr. Benjamin Bol Mel survived a road accident while travelling from Aweil South County to Aweil town on Sunday evening.

 “The road accident occurred on Sunday evening, but the presidential envoy survived and is fine now. Only that three of his bodyguards sustained minor injuries,” Anyuon said.

Bol Mel is also the head of Africa Resource Corporation (ARC), which has secured many government infrastructure projects.

The renowned South Sudanese businessman previously oversaw Thai-South Sudan Construction Company Limited (ABMC), which was awarded contracts worth tens of millions of dollars by the government. He was sanctioned by the US government in December 2017 over alleged corruption linked to his business firms.

Last week, three national ministers and a deputy speaker were also involved in a separate road accident while travelling from Arroyo to Aweil town. The officials who sustained injuries were airlifted to Juba for treatment.

Long-distance driving remains dangerous in most parts of South Sudan.