He said the Ukrainian passenger aircraft, chartered by the Greater Pioneer Operating Company (GPOC) and operated by Light Air Services Aviation Company, was on a routine mission to the area.
“The state government is in a deep sorrow by this accident”, he added, saying there would be an investigation.
“Although most people predicted that this might be a mechanical collision,” he added, without giving more details.
All of the passengers are employees of GPOC: 16 South Sudanese, two Chinese nationals and 1 Indian, according to the manifest seen by AFP, confirmed by local authorities.
Pictures shared on social media showed the crumpled aircraft upside down in a field, debris spread across the area.
In some of the images - which AFP has not been able to independently verify - a body could be seen spilling from the wrecked fuselage.
President Salva Kiir expressed his “profound sorrow” over the crash, saying he would “pray for the quick recovery of the survivor”.
He added that he had instructed “the ministry of transport and all relevant authorities to conduct a thorough and swift investigation”.
South Sudan broke away from its northern neighbour in 2011 and has faced severe economic and political instability ever since.
The young nation lacks a reliable transport infrastructure and air accidents are common, the crashes frequently blamed on overloading or poor weather.
In 2021 five people were killed after a cargo plane carrying fuel for the UN’s World Food Programme crashed near Juba.
Overloading of planes is common and was believed to have contributed to the 2015 crash of an Antonov plane in Juba that killed 36 people.
In 2017, 37 people had a miraculous escape after their plane hit a fire truck on a runway in Wau before bursting into flames.
- Agence France-Presse
