5 of crashed plane crew members were Armenian citizens

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 4, ARMENPRESS. 5 of the crew members killed in South Sudan AN-12 plane crash on Nov. 4 were citizens of the Republic of Armenia. Armenia MFA informs about it on its Facebook page.

“According to the preliminary data of Armenia Embassy in Egypt, 5 of the crew members of the plane were citizens of the Republic of Armenia. Additional information will be provided about the identities of the victims,” MFA representative notes.

It has become known that the airplane was exploited by Tajik Asia Airways company.

As “Armenpress” was informed by the press service of General Department of Civil Aviation of the Republic of Armenia, the dead crew members were not licensed by Armenia General Department of Civil Aviation.

A number of Russian media spread information that cargo plane which crashed in South Sudan was registered in Armenia and was owned by an Armenian organization.

Reuters reported on November 4 that a Russian-built cargo plane with passengers on board crashed on Wednesday after taking off from the airport in South Sudan's capital, killing at least 41 people on the flight and on the ground. A crew member and a child on board survived, presidential spokesman Ateny Wek Ateny told Reuters. Shortly after taking off from Juba airport the plane came down on the banks of the White Nile River, leaving a tail fin and lumps of fuselage strewn in vegetation close to the water.

The plane may have had about 20 people on board, including crew and "probably" 10 to 15 passengers, but as Ateny said they had to confirm how many people were on board.