Plane Crash In Sudan Kills Defense Minister, 22 Others

May 2, 2008 6:48 p.m. EST

Khartoum, Sudan (AHN) - A plane crash in southern Sudan Friday killed 24 passengers and crew, including the country's defense minister.

The Beachcraft 1900 operated by South Sudan Air Connection crashed some 220 miles (375 kilometers) west of Juba, capital of the semi-autonomous region in the south.

Southern Minister of Defense Dominic Dim and people who attended the Sudan People's Liberation Movement conference were aboard the plane returning to Juba. Investigation of the crash is ongoing.

Presstv.ir quoted Deputy Prime Minister Riek Mashar as saying that an attack was ruled out as the cause of the crash.