James Dak Chap and Younis Kur Koy have recounted their lucky escape from the plane crash in Rubkona County of South Sudan’s Unity State on January 29.
Their names were replaced on the manifest with two others after their late arrival at the airstrip.
Consequently, the names of passengers number 7 and 19, who perished in the crash, were not on the manifest.
Dak told Radio Tamazuj Saturday that he arrived at the airstrip when the plane was already taxing on the runway and was told that his named had been removed from the manifest.
He was told he would go on the second plane.
“I would like to inform my brothers and sisters as well as the public that I am not dead,” he said.
“I live here in Unity oilfield and I did not go on the flight that you saw crash on Wednesday, claiming the live of 20 people,” he added.
Dak disclosed that he lost colleagues that he had worked with for 11 years.
He said that following the incident, he immediately visited Bishop Christian Carlassare of Bentiu Diocese to offer prayers, thanking God for protecting his life.
Following the incident, South Sudan authorities said they started investigating the cause of plane crash at the country’s Unity oilfield, that claimed the lives of 20 passengers and crew, with one survivor.
The victims were engineers and technical staff of Greater Pioneer Operating Company (GPOC), which operates the Unity field. GPOC’s shareholders include state-owned NilePet, China National Petroleum Corporation, ONGC Videsh of India and Malaysia’s Petronas, according to the NilePet website.
The passengers included 16 South Sudanese nationals, two from China and one from India. The two crew were from Uganda.
The authorities named the survivor as Emmanuel Maker.
According to the Aviation Safety Network, a service provided by the 80-year-old, US-based Flight Safety Foundation, the aircraft involved in the crash was a Beech 1900D model.
The crashed plane is one of five aircraft operated by Light Air Services in Juba, whose website said the company has been in operation for 13 years.