Tragedy hits South Sudan as plane crashes, kills 44 people on board

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A plane crash-landed and burst into flames, killing 44 passengers on board in South Sudan.

Rescue workers swung into action, pulling out survivors from the burning wreckage after the passenger plane belonging to South Supreme Airlines crashed at the Wau airport.

The exact cause of the crash is yet to be ascertained, but sources at the airport claim chaos erupted when a fire broke out on board, Metro writes.

Pictures taken by people at the airport showed the bulk of the plane completely destroyed by fire as it was surrounded by emergency services, airport personnel and UN peacekeepers.

Firefighters arrived at the scene of the air disaster and poured water on the plane’s smouldering remains, but they were hampered by a thick smoke that filled the air.

South Supreme Airlines began operating in September 2013, with only a handful of flights every week between South Sudan and neighbouring Uganda.

South Sudan has been engulfed in internal strife since its independence from Sudan in 2011, and only recently it declared a state of famine following years of civil war.

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