At least 21 people have died in South Sudan when a small aircraft carrying passengers from Juba International Airport to the city of Yirol crashed into a lake.
"The plane crashed and killed 17 people and we have three survivors," State information Minister Taban Abel told Reuters from Yirol. The plane carried a total of 22 people.
One of the survivors, an Italian doctor working with an NGO, is in critical condition and undergoing surgery in Yirol Hospital, the minister said.
An eyewitness had earlier said bodies were recovered from the water.
There were three children among the 22 passengers, a source said.
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David Subek, Chief Executive officer of South Sudan Civil Aviation Authority in Juba, confirmed the crash and told Reuters he did not know the death toll yet.
Several crashes have occurred in war-torn South Sudan in recent years. In 2017, four passengers were injured after bad weather caused their plane to crash into a fire truck upon landing and burst into flames.
In 2015, dozens of people were killed when a Russian-built cargo plane with passengers on board crashed after taking off from the airport in Juba.
