Forty-six people, including top military officers, lost their lives when a Sudanese military transport plane crashed into a residential neighborhood on the outskirts of Khartoum, the regional government reported on Wednesday.
Among the victims was Sudanese senior commander Major Gen. Bahr Ahmed, according to Kenya Times. The Antonov aircraft went down on Tuesday night near Wadi Seidna air base, one of the army’s largest military hubs in Omdurman, northwest of the capital.
The army, which has been engaged in conflict with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since April 2023, stated that the plane crashed during takeoff, resulting in casualties among both military personnel and civilians.
“After a final tally, the number of martyrs reached 46, with 10 injured,” the Khartoum regional government’s media office said in a statement. The army-aligned health ministry had previously reported at least 19 dead.
Witnesses described hearing a loud explosion and seeing several homes damaged in the area. The crash also caused power outages in nearby neighborhoods. Emergency teams rushed injured civilians, including children, to a nearby hospital.
A military source cited a technical malfunction as the cause of the crash. The source spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity, as they were not authorized to comment to the media.
