Juba airport has opened investigations into the crash of HK-4274 plane that killed 11 people in Pieri-Uror, Jonglei State, at 5.05pm on Tuesday evening.

Juba International Airport Director Kur Kuol confirmed to The City Review about the crash but said there were scanty details regarding the incident due to poor communication networks in the state.  

“It is true, it happened that plane took off from Juba Airport at 2pm heading Pirei and at around 5pm it took off from Pieri coming back to Juba and it crashed just 10 minutes at Uror,” he said.

Even though Kuol said 10 people died in the crash, he lamented the poor communication network in the area as he promised further extensive details after the investigation.

He sent the team to the site for a fact-finding mission to reveal the cause of the incident.

‘‘We could not get the right information from the people in the ground because the areas do not have network and the incident happened in the evening so we could not make any,’’ he lamented.

When the sad news struck, Jonglei State Governor Denay Jock Chagok sent a condolence message to console the bereaved families.

 “Ten people including the two pilots lost their lives,”Chagok said.

 He added: “Our prayers are with their families and loved ones. On my own behalf and on behalf of the people of Jonglei State and the nation [we] share this condolence message with the affected families and friends in these hours of grief.’’

An eye witness who requested to not be named for fear of victimization said: “There were 11 passengers in the plane. Nine died first and there [were] two survivors who were children who were rushed to the hospital and later they also died.’’

The plane crash joins a long chain of similar incidents that have happened in the country without a clear investigation to unearth the errors that lead to the crash.

 In August 2020, a cargo plane belonging to a local operator crashed in Juba killing four passengers and three crew members.

The plane crashed in the Kameru neighbourhood shortly after its early morning takeoff on a Saturday from Juba International Airport.