Passengers injured in a plane crash in Bor are receiving urgent medical care from Sri Lankan peacekeepers stationed at a hospital operated by the United Nations Mission in South Sudan.
“I want to say how grateful we are for the prompt response from UNMISS for saving our lives,” said Barzenia Leonard, the pilot of the Abeer Air Service L-140 plane which crashed 12 kilometers south of Bor on Sunday.
“We don’t know what would have happened without the immediate response from the UNMISS medical team on the ground here in Bor.”
Barzenia Leonard said, as the plane approached Juba from Walgak in Bieh, they received information about looming bad weather.
“So, we decided to come back and land in Bor. However, the radio was not functioning, so we came on our own. We found there was a big thunderstorm here and, in that storm, we were destroyed.”
Speaking from his bed at the UNMISS Level 2 hospital in Bor, he explained how he managed to land the plane without injuring civilians on the ground.
“I had to maneuver away from buildings and had wanted to land on the road. But there were people there and so we were left with no choice but go into the bush.”
The Mayor of Bor, Mach Majier, commended local community members who helped evacuate the injured and safeguarded the aircraft and its cargo when it crash-landed at Bor Gor.
“We are also grateful for the prompt response of UNMISS, which dispatched an ambulance to the crash site, from where we brought the injured to the Level 2 hospital,” said the Mayor.
The UNMISS Acting Head of Field Office in Bor, Isidore Boutchue, said the Mission was pleased to be able respond quickly to such a life-threatening situation, which underpins the mandate of protecting civilians in South Sudan.