Khartoum – A Sudanese military aircraft crash in the city of Omdurman has resulted in a tragic loss of life, with the death toll climbing to at least 46 people, including women and children, officials confirmed on Wednesday. The incident marks one of the deadliest plane crashes in the northeastern African nation in the past two decades.
The Antonov aircraft crashed on Tuesday in a populated area of Omdurman, also leaving at least 10 people injured, according to the government-run Khartoum Media Office. An initial report from the health ministry had put the death toll at 19.
According to a military statement, the plane crashed shortly after taking off from the Wadi Sayidna air base, located north of Omdurman, the sister city of the capital, Khartoum. The crash also caused significant damage to several houses in the Karrari district of Omdurman, the media office reported.
While the military confirmed that both armed forces personnel and civilians were among the deceased, it did not provide specific figures or disclose the cause of the crash. The health ministry confirmed that some of the bodies had been transferred to the Nau hospital in Omdurman.
Among those killed were senior military officers, including Maj. Gen. Bahr Ahmed Bahr and Lt. Col. Awad Ayoub, as well as the aircraft crew, according to a military official who spoke anonymously due to the sensitivity of the matter. The official also confirmed that women and children were among the dead, including five siblings.
Local media reports indicate that the aircraft was en route to Port Sudan, a city on the Red Sea that serves as the seat of the military-backed government. The crash occurred over the Al-Thawra neighbourhood in the Karrari district. Residents reported hearing loud explosions and witnessing thick clouds of smoke and dust billowing over Omdurman.
This latest incident underscores Sudan’s concerning aviation safety record. Aircraft crashes are unfortunately common in the country. In 2020, at least 16 people were killed when a military plane, a Russian Antonov An-12, crashed in the western region of Darfur. Another devastating incident occurred in 2003 when a civilian Sudan Airways plane crashed into a hillside while attempting an emergency landing, claiming the lives of 116 people, including eight foreigners. Only one boy survived that crash.
Adding to the country’s woes, Sudan is currently grappling with a severe cholera outbreak that has claimed the lives of 1,472 people across a dozen provinces in recent months, according to the Health Ministry. Since the outbreak was detected in July of last year, approximately 56,000 people have been sickened by the disease.
The ministry reported that over 70 people had died in two cities in the White Nile province earlier this month alone, with more than 2,000 others diagnosed with the disease in the cities of Kosti and Rabak. The outbreak was initially detected during the rainy season between July and October of last year. The heavy rainfall and subsequent floods particularly impacted the country’s eastern areas, where millions of war-displaced people have sought shelter.
The cholera outbreak has further strained a country already reeling from nearly two years of devastating civil war. Since 2023, Sudan has been embroiled in a conflict between the military and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a notorious paramilitary group. Tensions between the two factions erupted into open warfare, resulting in widespread destruction in urban areas and numerous atrocities.
The United Nations and international rights groups have documented mass rape and ethnically motivated killings, particularly in the western region of Darfur, which they say amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The war has intensified in recent months, with the military making steady gains against the RSF in Khartoum and other parts of the country. The RSF, which controls most of Darfur, claimed to have downed a military aircraft on Monday in Nyala, the provincial capital of South Darfur province.
