A Russian-built cargo plane carrying some passengers crashed today after taking off from the airport in South Sudan's capital, killing at least 41 people who were on board and others on the ground, an official and a Reuters witness said.

A crew member and a child on board survived the crash, presidential spokesman Ateny Wek Ateny told Reuters.

He said the plane may have had about 20 people on board, including crew and 10 to 15 passengers, while an unknown number were killed on the ground. But he said numbers were still being collated. (REUTERS)