UPDATE - Aircraft crash kills 18 in South Sudan

UPDATES AS 18 PEOPLE DIE IN THE AIRCRASH,*** CHANGES HEADLINE, DECK

Benjamin Takpiny and Ilayda Cakirtekin

JUBA, South Sudan / ISTANBUL (AA) - At least 18 people died after an aircraft carrying 21 people crashed in South Sudan on Wednesday, a radio run by the UN said.

The plane carrying 21 people, including crew members, crashed while departing from South Sudan's Unity Oil Field, killing 18 people and leaving three others in "critical condition," Radio Miraya reported.

It added the pilot and co-pilot were among the dead.

Earlier, Gatwech Bipal, information and communication minister of Unity State, had said the aircraft carried 20 people and crashed soon after taking off from an airport in the region.

The aircraft was scheduled to travel to the capital Juba.

Bipal, however, later said the aircraft carried 21 people of whom three had survived.