8 die in crash of Sudanese plane

April 13, 2008 (CHISINAU, Moldova) —A Sudanese-owned transport plane laden with fuel crashed shortly after takeoff from an airport near the Moldovan capital and burst into flames, killing all eight people on board, authorities said Saturday.

Investigators gather near the tailfin of an aircraft that crashed near Chisinau in Moldova Saturday. A Soviet-made cargo plane AN-32 crashed Friday after taking off from Chisinau airport, killing the eight people on board, sources close to the Moldovan emergency services said. (Reuters)

No casualties were reported on the ground. The plane, an An-32, took off for Sudan late Friday but pilots requested permission to return to Chisinau airport 10 minutes into the flight, the press service of the country's emergency department said.

Pilots tried to land the transport, which was carrying a cargo of 2.3 tons of fuel, but a wing struck a fence and electrical wires a few kilometers (miles) from the airport and the plane burst into flames, the department of Civil Protection and Exceptional Situations said.

It said all eight crew died, including two technical crew, and that four were Moldovans and four were Ukrainians. Seven bodies have been recovered, it said.

The plane, owned by the Sudanese company Kata Air Transport, had been due to stop en route to Sudan in Antalia, Turkey.

The crash is being investigated, the emergency department said.

(The China Post)