Lucky pair: South Sudan plane crash survivor tells how he saved baby who miraculously only suffered a broken leg and forehead cut

The lone adult survivor of a South Sudan plane crash said that he cradled a stranger's baby in his arms as doomed passengers shouted the aircraft was going down, and he and the child were the only people who lived through the carnage.

Wuor Arop also said from his hospital bed where he was recovering with limbs broken in six places and a head injury that the plane carried more than 30 unauthorised passengers.

The Soviet-built Antonov AN-12 had taken off from South Sudan's capital, Juba, on Thursday and was headed for the Paloich oil fields with a crew of six when it crashed, according to South Sudan's Civil Aviation Authority. Thirty-seven people died in the crash, said officials.

The only other survivor was Nyalou Thong, a 13-month-old baby, not related to Arop, whom he cradled in his arms during the crash. She survived with a broken leg and a cut on her forehead.

Shortly after take-off, other passengers started shouting that the plane was crashing, said Arop.

"The baby I grabbed, [she] was near me," he said. "Plus my friend who was near me, he stepped on me so I grabbed him."

He said he remembered his friend calling out his name just before impact, his last memory before waking up in a hospital.

Arop said he paid 500 South Sudanese pounds, less than US$30 at Juba street exchange rates, to an unofficial "dealmaker" for a seat on the cargo flight. He said no ticket was issued and the fee was split between the pilot and the broker.

He was one of nine people besides the crew who had seats on the plane, while the other passengers sat among the cargo, which included cheap sandals, crackers, cans of beer, and medicine, he said.

The plane's three black boxes were recovered, Minister of Transportation Kuong Danhier Gatluak said on Saturday. The government had banned all AN-12s from flying in South Sudan for the time being, he said.

Arop said he was flying to Paloich to return to his job with the Danish Refugee Council after visiting his family in Juba.

There are no commercial passenger flights to Paloich and roads are impassable due to South Sudan's civil war and rainy season.

The UN Humanitarian Air Service, which transports aid workers around this mostly road-less nation, also flies to Paloich.