KHARTOUM, Sudan - A Sudanese Airbus carrying 214 people veered off the runway in a thunderstorm and burst into flames late yesterday, killing dozens unable to escape the inferno. Officials said more than 100 people fled the plane before it was engulfed by towering orange flames.
The Civil Aviation Authority confirmed that 103 passengers and all 11 crewmembers survived. It said some other passengers might have gone home directly from the crash on the rain-soaked runway after crewmembers helped them through the emergency doors.
The death toll wasn't immediately clear. Reports right after the crash said about 100 were killed, but officials later put the toll at dozens without being more precise. Deputy parliament speaker Mohammed al-Hassan al-Ameen said "about 30 people" died, while police spokesman Mohammed Abdel Majid al-Tayeb said 23 bodies were brought to the morgue.
The fire's roaring flames dwarfed the Airbus A310's shattered fuselage as firefighters sprayed water with little apparent effect, Sudanese TV footage showed. Members of the media were kept away but an Associated Press reporter heard several explosions after flames engulfed the aircraft.
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