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Lagos air crash: No survivors, officials say | |
(about 2 hours later) | |
A passenger plane with about 150 people on board has crashed into buildings in a densely populated district of Nigeria's main city of Lagos. | A passenger plane with about 150 people on board has crashed into buildings in a densely populated district of Nigeria's main city of Lagos. |
Nigeria's Civil Aviation Authority said there were no survivors on board the Dana Air plane. The cause of the crash is not yet known. | Nigeria's Civil Aviation Authority said there were no survivors on board the Dana Air plane. The cause of the crash is not yet known. |
Thousands of onlookers gathered at the crash site as rescue services searched the rubble for survivors. | Thousands of onlookers gathered at the crash site as rescue services searched the rubble for survivors. |
President Goodluck Jonathan has declared three days of mourning. | President Goodluck Jonathan has declared three days of mourning. |
The plane crashed in Iju neighbourhood, just north of the airport. It is not yet clear how many people may have died on the ground. | The plane crashed in Iju neighbourhood, just north of the airport. It is not yet clear how many people may have died on the ground. |
TV pictures showed chaotic scenes as crowds swarmed the crash site, some helping pass along hoses to douse the smoking wreckage. | |
Soldiers tried to disperse the onlookers using rubber whips and even their fists, witnesses said. Some local residents reacted by throwing stones at the troops. | |
Smoke billows | Smoke billows |
The commercial aircraft was flying from the Nigerian capital, Abuja, to Lagos when it crashed and burst into flames. | The commercial aircraft was flying from the Nigerian capital, Abuja, to Lagos when it crashed and burst into flames. |
Plane wreckage including a detached wing was scattered around and the body of the plane was lodged into a building. | |
The wreckage was on fire and black smoke billowed. | The wreckage was on fire and black smoke billowed. |
Several charred corpses could be seen in the rubble. | Several charred corpses could be seen in the rubble. |
"We heard a huge explosion, and at first we thought it was a gas canister," Timothy Akinyela, 50, a newspaper reporter who had been in a nearby bar with friends told Reuters. | |
It was difficult to reach the crash site because it is in a built-up part of Lagos. | It was difficult to reach the crash site because it is in a built-up part of Lagos. |
Hundreds of people gathered in the thick smoke, and on rooftops and balconies, trying to catch a glimpse of the wreckage. | Hundreds of people gathered in the thick smoke, and on rooftops and balconies, trying to catch a glimpse of the wreckage. |
Police, ambulances and the fire brigade are still trying to sift through the debris. | Police, ambulances and the fire brigade are still trying to sift through the debris. |
Residents of the Iju-Ishaga area of Lagos said they heard a loud bang on Sunday evening. The plane crashed into a printing press, and burst into flames. | Residents of the Iju-Ishaga area of Lagos said they heard a loud bang on Sunday evening. The plane crashed into a printing press, and burst into flames. |
A few surrounding buildings were also damaged and caught fire. The crash site was littered with secondary school textbooks from the printing press. | A few surrounding buildings were also damaged and caught fire. The crash site was littered with secondary school textbooks from the printing press. |
Rescue personnel will be working through the night although they did not seem to have enough equipment to light up the area. | Rescue personnel will be working through the night although they did not seem to have enough equipment to light up the area. |
They will have a hard time dealing with the growing crowd in that very densely populated part of Lagos. | They will have a hard time dealing with the growing crowd in that very densely populated part of Lagos. |
"Then there were some more explosions afterwards and everyone ran out. It was terrifying. There was confusion and shouting," he said. | "Then there were some more explosions afterwards and everyone ran out. It was terrifying. There was confusion and shouting," he said. |
The plane did not to appear to have nose-dived into the building but to have landed on its belly, careering into a furniture shop and a print works, reports said. | The plane did not to appear to have nose-dived into the building but to have landed on its belly, careering into a furniture shop and a print works, reports said. |
Casualties on the ground may have been minimised because it was Sunday and the buildings were likely to have been empty. | |
An investigation is under way but in difficult night-time conditions, says the BBC's East Africa correspondent Will Ross. | |
Officials told AFP the cockpit recorder had been found and given to police. | Officials told AFP the cockpit recorder had been found and given to police. |
Technical problem | Technical problem |
In a statement, President Jonathan declared three days of mourning and said he had ordered the "fullest possible" investigation into the crash. | In a statement, President Jonathan declared three days of mourning and said he had ordered the "fullest possible" investigation into the crash. |
The crash had "sadly plunged the nation into further sorrow on a day when Nigerians were already in grief over the loss of many other innocent lives in the church bombing in Bauchi state", the statement said. | |
The weather at the time of the crash was overcast - but there were none of the storms that regularly strike the city. | The weather at the time of the crash was overcast - but there were none of the storms that regularly strike the city. |
On 11 May a similar Dana Air plane - possibly the same one - developed a technical problem and was forced to make an emergency landing in Lagos, our correspondent adds. | On 11 May a similar Dana Air plane - possibly the same one - developed a technical problem and was forced to make an emergency landing in Lagos, our correspondent adds. |
Nigeria, like many African countries, has a poor air safety record, though some efforts have been made to improve it since a spate of airline disasters in 2005. | Nigeria, like many African countries, has a poor air safety record, though some efforts have been made to improve it since a spate of airline disasters in 2005. |
Dana Air's website says it operates Boeing MD-83 planes to cities around Nigeria out of Murtala Muhammed Airport. | Dana Air's website says it operates Boeing MD-83 planes to cities around Nigeria out of Murtala Muhammed Airport. |
The 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. | |
Are you in Lagos? Did you witness the crash? Have you been affected by the events in this story? Please get in touch using the form below. | Are you in Lagos? Did you witness the crash? Have you been affected by the events in this story? Please get in touch using the form below. |