Nigeria mourns 153 people killed in air crash
Nigeria begins three days of national mourning after a plane crashes in Lagos, killing all 153 passengers and crew.
The plane took off from Abuja and was due to land at Lagos airport when it crashed into a furniture workshop, then into residential buildings in the Agege area of the city and burst into flames.
Government officials said that it was likely there were further casualties among the residents of the buildings damaged by the aircraft.
The flight’s pilots radioed to the Lagos control tower just before the crash, saying the plane had engine trouble, a military official said.
Rescue officials feared many others were killed or injured on the ground, but no casualty figures were immediately available.
Mourning
President Goodluck Jonathan later declared three days of national mourning in Africa’s most populous nation. A statement said the president “prays that God Almighty will grant the families of the victims of the plane crash the courage and fortitude to bear their irreparable loss”.
The aircraft appeared to have come down on its belly in the dense neighbourhood that sits along the typical approach path taken by aircraft heading into Lagos’ Murtala Muhammed international airport.
The plane tore through roofs, sheared a mango tree and rammed into a woodworking studio, a printing press and at least two large apartment buildings in the neighbourhood before stopping.
Crowds of residents surrounded the crash site, delaying emergency services from searching for survivors.
Yushau Shuaib, spokesman for the National Emergency Management Agency, said more casualties on the ground were likely but the number was unknown. He said officials were still trying to get an official manifest on the flight.
The plane was operated by Dana Air, which normally flies Boeing MD83 aircraft.
The nose of the plane was embedded in the three-storey apartment building, damaging only part of the structure. Fires smouldered as several thousand people looked on. A group of men stood atop the landing gear that was smoking and took pictures with their mobile phones.