At least 150 people were feared killed yesterday after a commercial airline crashed into a densely populated area of Lagos, the biggest city in Nigeria
The plane, operated by Dana Air, was coming in to land in Lagos having taken
off from the capital Abuja less than an hour earlier.
Some reports suggested that the plane hit power cables as it descended towards
the runway, while others said that it hit a furniture shop and then into
residential buildings in the neighborhood. The plane did not appear to have
nosedived, but rather land on its belly.
The weather locally was described as clear and sunny as the plane came in to
land.
Those near the crash site, in the busy neighborhood of Iju, described scenes
of chaos as emergency vehicles battled to get through heavy traffic and
gathering crowds.
Flames and smoke billowed from where the plane went down, close to the
airport, and eyewitnesses reported that several buildings were on fire as
officials tried to evacuate the area.
“It’s just chaos right now. A lot of people live in that area and the roads are very bad,” he said. “The crowds have surrounded the place, making it very difficult for emergency services to get through to the crash site.
“We can see a lot of flames and smoke, but not exactly what has been hit. There will definitely have been many more fatalities on the ground.”
Nigerian Aviation News website reported that the plane had suddenly disappeared from the radar scope of the Lagos Air Traffic Control, and communication from the tower to the pilot was lost.
A spokesman for Dana Air confirmed 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 told AFP. “We lost communication with the aircraft.”
Since its inaugural flight from Lagos to Abuja in November 2008, Dana Air has grown to become one of Nigeria’s leading airlines operating more than 18 daily flights to Abuja, Lagos, Port Harcourt and Uyo, carrying up to 1.26 million passengers up to December 2011. According to the airline’s website, it was awarded the title of “Best Safety and Security Conscious Airline in Nigeria” at the Security Watch Africa Awards in September 2010.
Lagos has a population of around 15 million and its international airport is a major hub for West Africa, seeing 2.3 million passengers pass through it in 2009.
Air crashes are not uncommon in Nigeria, Africa’s second biggest economy, which has a poor airline safety record.
The Lagos crash comes less than 24 hours after a cargo plane flying from Lagos crashed into a bus and a taxi after overshooting a runway at Ghana’s international airport, killing at least 10 people.
An investigation has been opened into the Boeing 727 plane crash, which saw the Nigerian-registered aircraft land in heavy rain and slam through a perimeter fence and onto a public road. The plane’s four crew survived.
“It’s just chaos right now. A lot of people live in that area and the roads are very bad,” he said. “The crowds have surrounded the place, making it very difficult for emergency services to get through to the crash site.
“We can see a lot of flames and smoke, but not exactly what has been hit. There will definitely have been many more fatalities on the ground.”
Nigerian Aviation News website reported that the plane had suddenly disappeared from the radar scope of the Lagos Air Traffic Control, and communication from the tower to the pilot was lost.
A spokesman for Dana Air confirmed 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 told AFP. “We lost communication with the aircraft.”
Since its inaugural flight from Lagos to Abuja in November 2008, Dana Air has grown to become one of Nigeria’s leading airlines operating more than 18 daily flights to Abuja, Lagos, Port Harcourt and Uyo, carrying up to 1.26 million passengers up to December 2011. According to the airline’s website, it was awarded the title of “Best Safety and Security Conscious Airline in Nigeria” at the Security Watch Africa Awards in September 2010.
Lagos has a population of around 15 million and its international airport is a major hub for West Africa, seeing 2.3 million passengers pass through it in 2009.
Air crashes are not uncommon in Nigeria, Africa’s second biggest economy, which has a poor airline safety record.
The Lagos crash comes less than 24 hours after a cargo plane flying from Lagos crashed into a bus and a taxi after overshooting a runway at Ghana’s international airport, killing at least 10 people.
An investigation has been opened into the Boeing 727 plane crash, which saw the Nigerian-registered aircraft land in heavy rain and slam through a perimeter fence and onto a public road. The plane’s four crew survived.
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