South Sudan Plane Crash Kills Dozens

On Wednesday, a Russian-made cargo plane crashed in South Sudan, near the international airport in the capital city of Juba. The incident reportedly killed at least 40 people as it crashed on the Nile River's east bank, just 800 meters away from the airport runway, according to Reuters' initial reports. It was unclear how many people were killed on the plane versus on the ground.

Reuters reports that the plane went down a little after taking off from the airport. A Radio Miraya message indicates the plane was on its way to Paloch in the Upper Nile State, according to BBC News. Around 20 people might have been on board, presidential spokesman Ateny Wek Ateny told Reuters, including possibly 10 to 15 passengers. A crew member and child passenger are reportedly among the survivors.

According to Al Jazeera, citing a local news outlet, the the plane had six members of a joint Russian and Armenian crew on board on board the Russian-built aircraft. The news comes less than a week a Russian passenger plane carrying 224 people crashed over Egypt's Sinai peninsula. Investigators are continuing their efforts into finding out what caused the downed plane.