At least seven die in Sudan after helicopter crash

At least seven local government officials were killed in a helicopter crash in Sudan's eastern al-Qadarif state on Sunday, state news agency SUNA reported.

Witnesses said the helicopter caught fire after hitting a communications tower as it tried to land in a field in the state of Al-Qadarif.

"Flames and thick dark smoke rose from the aircraft," one of the witnesses, Adam Hassan, said.

Al-Qadarif governor Mirghani Saleh, his cabinet chief, the local minister of agriculture as well as the local police chief and head of border guards were killed, state television said.

It did not give details about the circumstances of the crash near the border with Ethiopia, or say if there were any survivors.

SUNA said an unspecified number of other people were taken to hospital for treatment, without providing further details.

Most of Sudan's military and civilian fleet consists of old Soviet-made aircraft, and the country has suffered a series of crashes in recent years, with the military frequently blaming technical problems and bad weather.

In October eight people were injured in a collision between two Sudanese army planes on the runway at Khartoum airport.

Weeks earlier in September, two pilots were killed when their military jet crashed near Omdurman, Khartoum's twin city on the west bank of the Nile.

That accident came days after a military helicopter crashed and caught fire on landing in Darfur, though all passengers were rescued.