Minister killed in helicopter crash

Published on 20/08/2012 00:00

A SUDANESE helicopter carrying a government delegation crashed in a mountainous southern region yesterday, killing all 32 people on board including a cabinet minister, a former presidential adviser, two generals and a TV crew.

The delegation was travelling aboard a chartered helicopter to the volatile South Kordofan state to attend prayers on the first day of Eid al-Fitr.

The helicopter went down “due to harsh weather conditions” near Talodi, a small town about 400 miles south-west of the capital, Khartoum, state-run news agency Suna said.

A Sudanese official said the aircraft slammed into a mountain just before it was to land in Talodi, as seasonal heavy rains in the region left the pilots with “zero visibility”.

He said a search team that reached the site of the crash was having trouble identifying the victims as many bodies had been charred and torn to pieces.

The office of Sudan’s president Omar al-Bashir released a list of all 26 passengers and six crew members who perished in the crash.

Minister of endowment Ghadi al-Sadeq and a former adviser to al-Bashir, Makki Balayela, were on the list, as were the two generals and other officials.