153 passengers on board as plane crashes in Lagos
Source: Agencies |
June 4, 2012, Monday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
A PLANE carrying 153 passengers crashed in a densely populated district of Nigeria's economic capital Lagos late yesterday, the head of the country's Civil Aviation Authority said, adding he feared none of those on board had survived.
"It was a Dana (airline) flight out of (the capital) Abuja to Lagos with about 153 people on board," Harold Demuren said. "I don't believe there are any survivors."
Lagos State police spokesman Joseph Jaiyeoba said that the plane went down in the Iju neighborhood of the city, where most of the city's population is concentrated.
The crash happened near the airport.
A spokesman for Nigerian airline Dana confirmed that one of its planes had crashed but could not immediately provide further details.
"I can confirm that one of our planes crashed today on the outskirts of Lagos," Tony Usidamen said. "We lost communication with the aircraft."
He said that the company would be issuing an official statement later.
Witnesses said they saw the plane strike a two-story building and burst into flames with black smoke pouring into the sky.
Federal emergency management confirmed the crash in the neighborhood and said that its emergency personnel were on their way to the scene.
The weather in Lagos yesterday was clear and sunny.
Lagos, the largest city in Africa's most populous nation, is home to an estimated 15 million people.
Lagos' international airport is a major hub for West Africa and saw 2.3 million passengers pass through it in 2009, according to the most recent statistics provided by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria.
In August 2010, the United States announced it had given Nigeria the FAA's Category 1 status, its top safety rating that allows the nation's domestic carriers to fly directly to the US.
The Nigerian government said it also now has full radar coverage of the entire nation.
However, in a nation where the state-run electricity company is in tatters, state power and diesel generators sometimes both fail at airports, making radar screens go blank.
"It was a Dana (airline) flight out of (the capital) Abuja to Lagos with about 153 people on board," Harold Demuren said. "I don't believe there are any survivors."
Lagos State police spokesman Joseph Jaiyeoba said that the plane went down in the Iju neighborhood of the city, where most of the city's population is concentrated.
The crash happened near the airport.
A spokesman for Nigerian airline Dana confirmed that one of its planes had crashed but could not immediately provide further details.
"I can confirm that one of our planes crashed today on the outskirts of Lagos," Tony Usidamen said. "We lost communication with the aircraft."
He said that the company would be issuing an official statement later.
Witnesses said they saw the plane strike a two-story building and burst into flames with black smoke pouring into the sky.
Federal emergency management confirmed the crash in the neighborhood and said that its emergency personnel were on their way to the scene.
The weather in Lagos yesterday was clear and sunny.
Lagos, the largest city in Africa's most populous nation, is home to an estimated 15 million people.
Lagos' international airport is a major hub for West Africa and saw 2.3 million passengers pass through it in 2009, according to the most recent statistics provided by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria.
In August 2010, the United States announced it had given Nigeria the FAA's Category 1 status, its top safety rating that allows the nation's domestic carriers to fly directly to the US.
The Nigerian government said it also now has full radar coverage of the entire nation.
However, in a nation where the state-run electricity company is in tatters, state power and diesel generators sometimes both fail at airports, making radar screens go blank.
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