Officials in the United Nations' Mission in Sudan said earlier Monday morning that Sudanese First-Vice President John Garang had been killed in a helicopter crash, but there has been no confirmation from the Sudanese government on his death.

Earlier at midnight, the Sudanese government announced that Garang was still missing along with the helicopter he took from Uganda to southern Sudan.

Government spokesman Abdul-Basit Sabdarat told the state television that Khartoum has mobilized all concerned sectors to investigate the whereabouts of the missing plane.

Garang arrived in Uganda on a charter flight on Friday for a two-day visit, during which he held talks with Ugandan President Yowery Museveni at his ranch in Rwakitura, about 300 km southwest of Ugandan capital Kampala.

He left Uganda for home on Saturday on a Ugandan helicopter and the contact with the plane was lost at 6:30 pm (1530 GMT) on the day because of bad weather, it was reported. The Sudanese army has launched a massive search for the aircraft in the wake of the reported missing.

Garang was sworn in as the first vice-president on July 9 under a comprehensive peace deal signed with Khartoum in January that ended 21 years of civil war in the country.

Source: Xinhua