Aviation tragedy: 153 feared dead in Lagos plane crash

Commercial aircraft hit two buildings: a church and a two-storey residential structure.

LAGOS:

A plane carrying 153 people plunged into a residential area of Nigeria’s largest city on Sunday, with all those aboard feared dead, an inferno blazing at the scene and a number of structures badly damaged.

Rescue workers have not located any survivors from the plane, the country’s civil aviation chief said. “We do not have any survivors yet,” an official told AFP after having earlier said all passengers were feared dead.

One rescue official said he believed a number of the bodies being taken away had been people killed on the ground rather than passengers.

An official with the National Emergency Management Agency said the plane had hit two buildings: a church and the two-storey residential structure.

“The plane is still burning as I speak with you, and there is smoke all over the place,” he said. Thick smoke rose from the area near Lagos airport and flames could be seen coming from a two-storey building. Residents said the plane had been coming in low, making a loud noise, when it slammed into the residential area.

Some residents said it appeared that the plane nose-dived into the neighbourhood.

The cause of the crash was not immediately clear, though an official from Nigeria’s rescue agency and an aviation official said the cockpit recorder had been located and handed over to the police.

Wreckage including a detached wing could be seen in the neighbourhood as the inferno burned. Residents reported seeing bodies being taken out of the area as rescue workers rushed in and a helicopter landed.

“The plane is still burning and gas coming out pervades the whole place, making search and rescue efforts difficult,” Tunji Oketunbi, a spokesman for Nigeria’s accident investigation bureau, told AFP from the scene.

Hundreds of residents swarmed the area to see what had happened.

“It was a Dana (airline) flight out of (the capital) Abuja to Lagos with about 153 people on board,” Demuren said.

A spokesman for Nigerian airline Dana confirmed one of its planes was involved in the crash but could not immediately provide further details.

This latest incident came after another plane crash on Saturday night in the capital of Ghana, which saw a cargo plane overshoot a runway and hit a passenger bus, killing at least 10 people.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 4^th, 2012.