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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| Military plane crashes in South Africa | Military plane crashes in South Africa |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A military plane carrying 11 passengers has crashed in South Africa's mountainous east. | A military plane carrying 11 passengers has crashed in South Africa's mountainous east. |
| The plane, which had been travelling from Pretoria to Mthatha, went missing on Wednesday but the initial search was abandoned due to poor weather. | The plane, which had been travelling from Pretoria to Mthatha, went missing on Wednesday but the initial search was abandoned due to poor weather. |
| The wreckage was found in the Drakensberg Mountains, near Ladysmith, in KwaZulu-Natal province, AP reports. | |
| Unconfirmed reports said that those on board the plane included members of Nelson Mandela's medical team. | Unconfirmed reports said that those on board the plane included members of Nelson Mandela's medical team. |
| But a spokesman for the defence department, Siphiwe Dlamini, has refused to confirm or deny the reports, saying it was an operational matter. | |
| Search for survivors | |
| Brig Gen Xolani Mabanga said that the aircraft had taken off from Pretoria's Waterkloof Air Force Base on Wednesday night, according to the Associated Press. | Brig Gen Xolani Mabanga said that the aircraft had taken off from Pretoria's Waterkloof Air Force Base on Wednesday night, according to the Associated Press. |
| He said soldiers had been sent to the scene to look for survivors. | He said soldiers had been sent to the scene to look for survivors. |
| The wreckage of the Douglas DC-3 Dakota, a twin-propeller aircraft, is reported to be spread over a wide area near the Giant's Castle, a famous peak on a steep escarpment. | |
| Mthatha's small airport in Eastern Cape province is situated some 17 miles (30km) from Mr Mandela's rural homestead of Qunu, where the former president has lived since retiring from public life. | |
| The BBC's Andrew Harding, in Johannesburg, says the military are responsible for the health of the 94-year-old anti-apartheid hero and a medical team travels regularly to his home. | |
| According to AP, another South African military flight crash-landed at Mthatha's airport in November and several people were injured. The military denied that those on board had anything to do with Mr Mandela's care. |