The Sudanese government’s religion minister has been killed in a plane crash along with some 30 other people, official media say.
The civilian aircraft, carrying military and political officials, came down in the Nuba Mountains.
All those on board are said to have died in the crash.
The plane was on its way to South Kordofan for an Eid al-Fitr celebration, to mark the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Sudan’s Minister of Guidance and Religious Endowments, Ghazi al-Sadiq Abdel Rahim, was among those killed.
The dead also include Justice Party Chairman Makki Ali Balayil, a South Kordofan state spokesman said.
The aircraft came down in the Talodi area of South Kordofan, en route from the capital Khartoum.
The town of Talodi, some 50km (30 miles) from the border with South Sudan, lies on a plain, next to a range of hills.
A television statement said the weather prevented the aircraft from landing at its first attempt. Second time round, the plane hit a mountain.
An unnamed civil aviation representative told state radio the plane was an Antonov.
A civil war broke out in South Kordofan more than a year ago, and Talodi has been attacked by rebels several times. However a rebel spokesman said his forces had nothing to do with the crash, the BBC’s James Copnall reports.
There have been several deadly plane crashes in Sudan in recent years.
The authorities complain that it is difficult to get spare parts because of US sanctions against Khartoum.
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