This video frame grab image taken from Sudan TV via AP Television News shows a plane that burst into flames after apparently veering off a runway at an airport in Khartoum, Sudan, Tuesday June 10, 2008. (AP / Sudan TV via APTN)
..."One of the (plane's) engines exploded and the plane caught fire," Ibrahim said. He said bad weather did not cause the crash, which he blamed on a technical problem.
The Sudanese ambassador to Washington called the weather "very bad" and said the runway was drenched by rain.
The head of Sudanese police, Mohammad Najib, said bad weather "caused the plane to crash land, split into two and catch fire."
"We believe that most of the passengers were able to make it out and escape with their lives," said Najib, without disclosing further details on how they escaped.
But he stressed that officials could not say for sure how many were killed.
The airport was experiencing a thunderstorm and winds about 20 mph at the time of the crash, said Elaine Yang, a meterologist with the San Francisco-based Weather Underground, a private weather service.
Raqeeb Abdel-Latif, head of the Sudan Airways office in Damascus, Syria, said the plane had joined the Sudanese national carrier fleet seven months ago.
It took off from Damascus with 203 passengers on board, mostly Africans and a few non-Sudanese nationals and 14 crew members. It stopped in Amman, where 34 additional passengers came on board.
Due to inclement weather, the aircraft stopped at Port Sudan Airport along the Red Sea picking up 35 passengers and refueling before heading back, Sudanese Ambassador John Ukec Lueth Ukec said in Washington.
Upon arrival the weather was "still very bad," said Ukec. "There was a lot of water on the runway and they still tried to land."...
Khartoum, Sudan (Airport)
June 10, 2008
Time :: 2:00 PM EST
Lat/Lon: 15.6° N 32.5° E
Elevation :: 1253 ft / 382 m
Temperatures :: 95 °F / 35 °C
Conditions :: Light Rain
Humidity :: 34%
Dew Point :: 70 °F / 21 °C
Wind :: 21 mph / 33 km/h / from the South
Wind Gust :: -
Pressure :: 29.76 in / 1008 hPa
Visibility :: 12.0 miles / 19.0 kilometers
