A cargo plane delivering humanitarian aid in Leer County has crashed, killing all three people on board, authorities have said.
The aircraft, chartered by the charity Samaritan’s Purse, went down on Tuesday morning near the airstrip in Leer County, Unity State.
The South Sudan Civil Aviation Authority (SSCAA) confirmed the fatalities, and local officials said the crew included citizens of Ukraine and Kenya.
The flight was carrying food for communities affected by severe flooding.
The SSCAA said the plane, which had departed from the capital, Juba, “encountered difficulties while approaching the Leer airstrip and subsequently crashed” at about 08:30 local time.
The acting commissioner of Leer County, Kueth Latjor, told Radio Tamazuj that two bodies were recovered from the wreckage. He identified them as a Ukrainian crew member and a South Sudanese engineer.
He added that the third victim, a Kenyan crew member, was still missing as of Tuesday evening. Search teams were planning to return to the remote crash site on Wednesday.
“The two bodies were brought to the county headquarters,” Latjor said, confirming that the recovered victims were a Ukrainian national and a South Sudanese national.
The plane was operated by the company Nari Air. The SSCAA said an investigation team had been dispatched to determine the cause of the accident.
In a statement, the authority extended its “deepest condolences to the families, colleagues and organisations affected by this tragic accident.”
The UN and humanitarian agencies frequently use air services to deliver vital supplies across South Sudan, particularly during the annual rainy season when widespread flooding makes many roads impassable.