At least 17 people have been killed and one survived after a cargo plane crashed after takeoff from Juba airport in South Sudan on Saturday morning, witnesses said.

Joseph Mayom, assistant professor at Upper Nile University said that a passenger who survived the incident was rushed to hospital in critical condition.

“According to what I have witnessed, one person was rescued after screaming in pain and was immediately taken to the hospital. We have counted 15 people and two crew members, bringing the total to 17,” Mr Mayom said.

The aircraft, which crashed into a farm in a residential area minutes after taking off from the Juba International Airport, was en route to Wau and Aweil towns.

The aircraft crashed shortly after its early morning takeoff in the Kameru neighbourhood around seven kilometers west of the Juba’s international airport.

Minister for Telecommunication and Postal Services in the Cabinet of South Sudan Madut Yel Biar said identities of the victims are yet to be ascertained, adding a pilot of the plane was a foreign national, without revealing more details.

“There were eight people on board, three passengers and five crew. A single person from among the passengers survived and she is in good health,” Mr Biar said.

“The four other passengers and the three crew members are dead.”

According to the minister, the crew members were Russian while the passengers were all South Sudanese.

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