KHARTOUM, Aug 19: All 31 people aboard an airplane carrying an "official delegation" to Sudan´s war-torn South Kordofan state for a function marking the Muslim Eid holiday were killed on Sunday, an aviation official said.
"All people on board were killed," Abdelhafiz Abdelrahim, spokesman for the Sudan Aviation Authority, told AFP.[break]
He said the plane was landing in Talodi town at about 8:00 am (0500 GMT) when "an explosion was heard and the plane was destroyed."
Abdelrahim could not immediately provide further details.
The official SUNA news agency issued a brief alert which said only: "A plane with 26 passengers, including ministers, crashed near Talodi."
Talodi has been a key battleground in the war which began in June last year betwee the government and ethnic rebels of the Sudan People´s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N).
There was no immediate word on what caused the explosion aboard the plane.
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