A Saudi Arabian airline said an A330 plane was involved in an 'accident' at Khartoum airport in Sudan

Heavy smoke in the vicinity of the Khartoum's airport on Saturday.

AFP/Getty Images

• A Saudi airline says one of its jets was involved in an accident at Khartoum airport in Sudan. 
• Sudan's doctors' union said two were killed at the airport after violence erupted in the city.
• Fighting has broken out in Sudan between its army and a group of paramilitaries.

Two people have reportedly died at Khartoum airport while a Saudi airline said one of its planes was involved in an accident after violence broke out on Saturday.

Two planes were damaged at the Sudanese capital's international airport as conflict between the army and paramilitaries escalated.

Saudia, formerly called Saudi Arabian Airlines, issued a statement saying one of its Airbus A330 jets was "involved in an accident" at the airport before a flight to Riyadh. 

—air plus news (@airplusnews) April 15, 2023

 

Saudia also said it had halted flights to and from Sudan following the incident. 

Sudan's doctors' union issued a Facebook post saying two civilians had been killed at the airport during fighting, though it did not confirm how, per BBC News and The Associated Press.

A video posted social media appeared to show smoke coming from two planes emitting smoke at the airport, as did images issued by news agency AFP.

According to data from FlightRadar24, the other plane damaged in the shelling was a Ukraine-based SkyUp 737, operating on behalf of airline Sunwing.

The flight tracking website also found another Saudia jet was very close to landing in Khartoum before diverting back to Jeddah in Saudia Arabia.

Fighting has broken out in Sudan after a month of escalating tensions following a military coup in October 2021.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a tweet he was deeply concerned about reports of fighting between the Sudanese army and rapid support forces.

"We urge all actors to stop the violence immediately and avoid further escalations or troop mobilizations and continue talks to resolve outstanding issues," Blinken said.

Read the original article on Business Insider

Contributer : Business Insider https://ift.tt/HETRQwX

Something that you might miss to see?