News is in that a South West Aviation L-410 light aircraft (UR-TWO) flying from Juba to Yirol (Sudan) with 20 passengers and 3 crew, impacted the Yirol River 1.7nm from departing the aerodrome in Yirol City.
Reports say that 19 bodies were recovered from the river by local fishermen, and 4 survivors were recovered and taken to a nearby hospital with serious injuries.
The manifest for the flight, which is handwritten, states that there were 17 adults and 3 children onboard with one being Ugandan, one Ethiopian and all others being south Sudan citizens. The manifest states the flight to be operated by a domestic carrier named Southwest, however after checking online records, there is no official note of the airline.
Southwest had chartered the aircraft to carry out a passenger flight from Juba to Yirol City. South Sudan’s Civil Aviation Authority have opened an investigation. Further adding to the confusion, an Italian Media report an Italian citizen, working as doctor for a NGO in South Sudan (the name appears on the manifest as being a South Sudan Citizen), is amongst the survivors and has been taken to Juba with serious injuries.
We will keep you updated on the latest.
