171 jet passengers escaped alive from this runway inferno

At least 29 people were killed inside the burning plane, while 171 managed to escape, according to the country's Civil Aviation Authority spokesman

Another 14 people  remained unaccounted for.

Many passengers fleeing the burning plane did not pass through customs, making the toll initially difficult to ascertain.

Wrecked: The wreckage of a Sudan Airways Airbus 11 June 2008 that caught fire after skidding off the runway

Investigation: Authorities inspect the scene the morning after the incident

By this morning, the fire has been completely extinguished and civil defense officials were now examining the wreckage to determine the causes of the crash.

The Sudan Airways jetliner appeared to have gone off the runway after landing at Khartoum International Airport, and several loud explosions resounded as fire raced through the aircraft.

The plane is thought to have skidded off the runaway and rammed into the light poles used by pilots to navigate when landing in bad weather, sparking a fire on the right side of the aircraft.

The roaring blaze dwarfed the Airbus A310's shattered fuselage as firefighters sprayed water, Sudanese TV footage showed.

Devastated: The Sudanese airliner burst into flames after landing in Khartoum

Ambulances and fire engines rushed to the scene, and media were kept away.

One survivor said the landing was 'rough', and there was a sharp impact several minutes later.

'The right wing was on fire,' said the passenger, who did not give his name.

He added that smoke got into the cockpit and some people started opening the emergency exits as fire engulfed the plane.

Passenger Kamal Eddin Mohammed said that 'as we landed, the engine burst into flame - I was sitting right next to it'.

A sandstorm had hit the area with 20 mph winds between 2pm and 3pm and there was a thunderstorm and similar winds at the time of the crash around 9pm.

Fatal crash: Rescuers attend the scene where a Sudanese jetliner veered off a runway after landing amid thunderstorms

But there were differing reports on the role weather played.

The head of Sudanese police, Mohammad Najib, said bad weather 'caused the plane to crash land, split into two and catch fire'.

Youssef Ibrahim, director of the Khartoum airport, disputed that bad weather was to blame and told Sudanese TV that the plane 'landed safely' and the pilot was talking to the control tower and getting further instructions when the accident occurred.

'One of the (plane's) engines exploded and the plane caught fire,' Ibrahim said. He blamed the accident on technical problems, but didn't elaborate.

Airbus said in a statement that it was sending a team of specialists to Khartoum to help in the investigation. It said the plane involved in the accident was 18 years old and had been operated by Sudan Airways since September.

Blaze danger: The Sudan Airways Airbus moments after it burst into flames

France's Inquiry and Analysis Bureau, known by its French initials BEA, is also taking part in the inquiry because the plane was made by France-based Airbus.

Civil aviation asked its counterpart in Amman, Jordan, the origin of the flight, for the passenger manifest to determine who was actually on the flight, as the original was destroyed in the crash, SUNA reported.

Khartoum airport reopened at noon today. Sudan has a poor aviation safety record. In May, a plane crash in a remote area of southern Sudan killed 24 people, including key members of the southern Sudanese government.

In July 2003, a Sudan Airways Boeing 737 en route from Port Sudan to Khartoum crashed soon after takeoff, killing all 115 people on board.