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The plane that crashed in South Sudan, killing at least 36 people “was in no state to fly”, Ukraine-based aircraft company said.

Antonov, the aircraft company, said in a statement that the An-12B was in no state to fly because it failed to undergo timely technical servicing that should have included work on extending its resources and exploitation timeframe.

Ukraine was the An-12B’s designer, but the plane itself was built in Uzbekistan, and later registered in the neighbouring Central state of Tajikistan.

The plane crashed after just taking off from South Sudan’s capital Juba, smashing into a farming community on an island on the White Nile River.