South Sudan's defence minister has been killed in a plane crash involving about 20 people, according to officials in Khartoum and the south.

Defence Minister Dominic Dim was aboard the plane with other passengers returning from a conference, said a source in the southern capital, Juba.

There were no immediate details of other casualties with one report saying the plane had crash-landed.

A presidential adviser was reportedly also aboard the plane.

Justin Yak was killed along with Mr Dim, according to sources in South Sudan's governing Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), which were quoted by Reuters news agency.

South Sudanese Deputy Prime Minister Riek Mashar told AFP the plane had come down about 375km (220 miles) west of Juba.

Saying he believed all 23 people aboard were dead, he gave no reason for the crash but ruled out an attack, the agency said.

The United Nations has sent a helicopter to the crash site.

Three years ago, the president of South Sudan, John Garang, was killed in a helicopter crash.

The region has had an autonomous government since the 2005 peace deal which ended decades of war with Khartoum.

(BBC)

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