(MENAFN) A cargo aircraft carrying relief supplies for Samaritan’s Purse crashed in South Sudan’s Unity State on Tuesday, according to the Aviation Safety Network (ASN).

The plane went down about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the Leer Airstrip in Leer County, a key oil-producing area near the Sudanese border, at approximately 8 a.m. local time (06:00 GMT).

Operated by Nari Air, the aircraft had departed Juba with roughly two tons of aid intended for communities displaced by severe flooding, media reported.

Bikram Rai, deputy director of Samaritan’s Purse in South Sudan, told media, “The incident left all three crew members dead. The supplies were intended for people in urgent need.”

Response teams have reached the crash site, Rai confirmed to media.

Nari Air, a South Sudan-based carrier offering cargo and passenger charters, has not yet released an official statement. The company has provided no details about the type of aircraft involved or the circumstances of the crash.

Since gaining independence in 2011, South Sudan has faced chronic instability. A five-year civil war erupted in 2013 following political conflict between President Salva Kiir and the nation’s first vice president, Riek Machar.

Flooding in South Sudan is frequent and increasingly severe, exacerbated by climate change. According to UNICEF, between 750,000 and over one million people are affected by floods annually, many forced to abandon their homes.

The country has seen multiple deadly aviation accidents in recent years. In January, a Beechcraft 1900 operated by Eagle Air crashed shortly after takeoff in Unity State, killing 20 of the 21 people on board, most of them oil workers. In March 2021, a Supreme Airlines plane crashed shortly after leaving Jonglei State, killing all ten passengers, including both pilots.

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