A commercial airliner crashed
into a densely populated neighborhood in Nigeria's largest city on
Sunday, killing all 153 people on board and others on the ground in the
worst air disaster in nearly two decades for the troubled nation.
The
cause of the Dana Air crash remained unknown Sunday night, as
firefighters and police struggled to put out the flames around the
wreckage of the Boeing MD83 aircraft.
Lagos state government said in a
statement that 153 people were on the flight traveling from Nigeria's
central capital of Abuja to Lagos in the nation's southwest.
Rescue
officials feared many others were killed or injured on the ground, but
no casualty figures were immediately available.
Firefighters and locals were seen
carrying the corpse of a man from one building, its walls still
crumbling and flames shooting from its roof more than an hour after the
crash.
President Goodluck Jonathan later declared three days of national mourning in Africa's most populous nation.
President Jonathan 'prays that God
Almighty will grant the families of the victims of the plane crash the
courage and fortitude to bear their irreparable loss,' a statement from
his office read.
The aircraft appeared to have landed
on its belly into the dense neighborhood 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 neighborhood before
stopping.
The airline has five aircraft in its
fleet and runs both regional and domestic flights.
Local media reported a
similar Dana flight in May made an emergency landing at the Lagos
airport after having a hydraulic problem.
Smoke pours from the wreckage of the plane after it crashed into the building, killing at least 153.
Daily Mail
Daily Mail
No comments:
Post a Comment