At least 20 people have been killed in a plane crash in the north of South Sudan, Unity state’s minister for information said.

The aircraft came down near the oil fields in Unity state at about 10:30am (08:30 GMT) shortly after taking off for the capital, Juba, on Wednesday.

The plane crashed 500 metres from the airport. Among 21 people on board there’s only one survivor .

All of the passengers – 16 South Sudanese, two Chinese nationals and 1 Indian – are employees of he Greater Pioneer Operating Company (GPOC).The aircraft was on a routine mission to the area.