CAIRO/ABIDJAN: A Sudanese military plane crashed in the White Nile south of the capital, Khartoum, killing all onboard, authorities said on Friday.

Authorities retrieved three bodies of officers, including a lieutenant colonel, the prime minister’s office said in a statement.

Search efforts were still ongoing for others who were onboard when the plane crashed near Al-Shegilab on Wednesday, according to the statement.

No further details were released, including how many people were onboard.

The crash was the latest involving a military plane in Sudan, where aircraft crashes are common mostly due to poor aviation safety record.

An Apache attack helicopter loaded with weapons and ammunition crashed in January, shortly after taking off from an airport on the eastern borders with Ethiopia. The three-person crew survived that crash.

At least 16 people, including two women and two children, were killed in January last year when a military plane, a Russian Antonov An-12, crashed in the restive West Darfur region.

In 2003, a civilian Sudan Airways plane crashed into a hillside while trying to make an emergency landing, killing 116 people, including eight foreigners. Only a small boy survived the crash.

Meanwhile in northern Ivory Coast, a military helicopter crashed while on a reconnaissance mission near the border with Burkina Faso, killing all five crew members, the defense ministry said on Friday.

An investigation has been opened to determine the cause of the crash, the ministry said in a statement.

* With Reuters and AP