A plane carrying 21 passengers and crew in South Sudan's Unity State crashed on Wednesday, killing 18 people, United Nations' Radio Miraya reported.
The plane had departed from an oilfield in the northern state when it crashed, according to Radio Miraya, which is run by the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).
The plane carrying 21 people, including crew members, crashed while departing from South Sudan's Unity Oil Field, killing 18 people and leaving three others in "critical condition," Radio Miraya reported.
It added the pilot and co-pilot were among the dead.
Crash after takeoff
Earlier, Gatwech Bipal, information and communication minister of Unity State, had said the aircraft carried 20 people and crashed soon after taking off from an airport in the region.
The aircraft was scheduled to travel to the capital, Juba. Bipal, however, later said the aircraft carried 21 people, of whom three had survived.
Several air crashes have occurred in war-torn South Sudan in recent years. In September 2018, at least 19 people died when a small aircraft carrying passengers from the capital, Juba, to the city of Yirol crashed.
In 2015, dozens of people were killed when a Russian-built cargo plane with passengers on board crashed after taking off from the airport in the capital, Juba.
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