Thirteen military personnel were killed and nine others wounded when a military plane crashed on Sunday morning, 40 kilometers west of Khartoum on its way to Darfur region.

Thirteen military personnel were killed and nine others wounded when a military plane crashed on Sunday morning, 40 kilometers west of Khartoum on its way to Darfur region, Sudan Tribune news website reported.

"Thirteen were killed instantly, and nine were taken to hospital," Sawarmi Khaled Saad, the Sudanese army spokesman, was quoted as saying by the state SUNA news agency.

He stated that the military transport plane, Antonov An-12, was heading from the capital Khartoum to El Fasher, capital of North Darfur carrying 16 military in addition to its crew of 6 people.

"The pilot informed the airport that he had a problem with one of his engines," before the plane went down in the desert west of Jebel Aulia, Saad told Agence France Presse news agency earlier.

He added that the plane was also transporting military equipment.

Jebel Aulia is a popular recreational site about one hour's drive south of the Khartoum area.

Last December, all six crewmen aboard another military helicopter died when it crash-landed and burned in North Kordofan state. The army blamed a technical problem, as it did in April last year when a helicopter went down in Darfur killing all five soldiers aboard.