Doctors in Britain will treat Mohammed al-Fateh Osman

Mohammed el-Fateh Osman was flown to Britain at the expense of the president of the United Arab Emirates on Friday morning, and taken to Great Ormond Street Hospital.

A hospital spokesman said the boy was admitted at around 1330 BST, and would be going through extensive tests to determine the best treatment for his multiple injuries.

He suffered burns and lost the lower part of a leg in Tuesday's crash, which killed his mother, but his condition on Friday afternoon was described as conscious and stable.

Mohammed left Khartoum with his father on a plane paid for by the ruler of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al-Nahyan, who will also pay for his medical care.

If you were to see the state of the bodies... you would know it was a miracle dictated by God that this child has come out alive Mohammed Hassan al-Bahi State Minister for Aviation

Crying Mohammed was reportedly found lying on a fallen tree by a nomad after the Boeing 737 went down soon after taking off from Port Sudan Airport on its way to Khartoum.

The pilot radioed the control tower about a problem in one engine minutes after take-off and within 10 minutes the plane had crashed.

Investigation begun

An investigation is under way into the cause of the crash, but initial reports cited a technical problem.

The black box flight recorder has already been recovered.

Mohammed's father and four-year-old sister live in Omdurman, the twin city of Khartoum.

State Minister for Aviation Mohammed Hassan al-Bahi said: "If you were to see the state of the bodies, and the death of those people, you would know it was a miracle dictated by God that this child has come out alive."

A passenger list showed at least 14 of the passengers were children, including four babies.

Boeing 737 Bestselling commercial jetliner of all time Used by 214 airline operators in 100 countries 737 fleet has made more than 90 million global flights Dangers of flying in Africa

The only British victim of the crash was Oxfam worker Nicholas Meadows.

A senior Sudanese air force official and a member of Parliament also died.

Sudanese authorities say the bodies of the passengers and crew have already been buried.

Asked whether the crash was caused by poor maintenance, Mr al-Bahi told reporters: "It's too early to make any judgements about the cause."

Sudan has suffered few passenger plane accidents in recent years.

However there have been several crashes involving military aircraft during the country's 20-year-long civil war.