Plane Crash bursts into flames in Sudan, 100 feared dead
Pastor Dale Morgan
Plane Crash bursts into flames in Sudan, 100 feared dead*
Updated Tue. Jun. 10 2008 3:23 PM ET
The Associated Press
KHARTOUM, Sudan -- Sudanese TV says at least 100 people were killed in
plane crash at Khartoum airport. A plane carrying about 200 passengers
veered off a runway late Tuesday amid thunderstorms and burst into flames.
An Associated Press reporter at the scene said the plane arriving from
Amman, Jordan apparently left the runway as it landed in Khartoum, the
capital of Sudan.
The head of Sudanese police, Mohammad Najib, said bad weather "caused
the plane to crash land, split into two and catch fire."
"We believe that most of the passengers were able to make it out and
escape with their lives," said Najib, without disclosing further details
on how they escaped.
But he stressed that officials could not say for sure how many were killed.
The plane took off from Damascus, Syria, Najib said. Al-Jazeera
television station said it was a Sudanese Airways passenger jet, and
Najib confirmed the plane was from a Sudanese airline.
Sudan has a poor aviation safety record. In May, a plane crash in a
remote area of southern Sudan killed 24 people, including key members of
the southern Sudanese government.
In July 2003, a Sudan Airways Boeing 737 en route from Port Sudan to
Khartoum crashed soon after takeoff, killing all 115 people on board.