Those On Board Included Politicians, Army Personnel, TV Crew

A chartered government helicopter went down in Sudan Sunday resulting in the fatal injury of all 32 people on board. The delegation, which included the minister of endowment, two army generals, and a TV crew were traveling to the South Kordofan state for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr.

Fox News relayed a report from the state-run news agency SUNA which indicated that the aircraft went down due to "harsh weather conditions" in a mountainous region near the small town of Galodi, abut 406 miles from the Sudanese capital of Khartoum. The aircraft reportedly "slammed" into a mountain in "zero visibility" caused by very heavy seasonal rain, according to an unnamed official not authorized to speak to the media.

A list released by the office of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir included Minister of Endowment Ghadi al-Sadeq, a leading member of the country's Peace and Justice Party Makki Balayela, as well as two generals and other officials. The TV crew consisted of four people from Sudan state television.

In all, the helicopter carried 26 passengers and six crew. The delegation was scheduled to attend prayers on the first day of the Muslim holiday, which marks the end of the Ramadan.

Some media sources originally reported that the aircraft was a fixed-wing airplane.

FMI: www.sudan.gov.sd/en