Airplane crash in Nigeria kills all 153 Passengers and several on the ground.

1:57am UK, Monday June 04, 2012

A passenger plane has crashed into buildings in a densly-populated area of Nigeria's largest city, killing all 153 people on board and others on the ground.
The president, Goodluck Jonathan, has declared three days of national mourning following the tragedy in Lagos - the country's worst air disaster for nearly two decades.


Air Crashes In Nigeria Since 2002
:: October 29, 2006: An Aviation Development Co flight from Abuja to Sokoto crashes, killing 96 people, including the top spiritual leader for the nation's Muslims

:: December 10, 2005: A Sosoliso Airlines flight full of schoolchildren flying from Abuja to Port Harcourt crashes - 107 people die

:: October 22, 2005: A Bellview Airlines flight crashes, killing 177 people after nose-diving into the ground at high speed

:: May 4, 2002: An EAS airliner with 77 on board crashes in the northern city of Kano. Four survived but at least 149 people died, including dozens on the ground



The Dana Air flight was flying from the capital Abuja to Lagos, according to civil aviation chief, Harold Denuren. He said rescue workers have not found any survivors.

The aircraft smashed through a furniture shop and then into residential buildings next to the store near Lagos airport.

The cause is not yet known - but a military official has said the pilots reported engine trouble shortly before the crash.

Authorities were unable to prevent a crowd of thousands gathering at the crash site as emergency services struggled to put out the fires around the wreckage.

Onlookers crawled over the plane's broken wings and stood on the smouldering remains, some filming and taking pictures on their mobile phones.

About 10 burnt bodies were removed from a building damaged in the crash.

One witness Praise Richard said: "I don't think there will be any survivors. It would take a miracle."

He said he heard a loud explosion that sounded like a bomb. He rushed outside and saw a lot of smoke and flames rising from the crash site.

The Nigerian Red Cross as well as the country's air crash safety investigators have been at the scene.

On Saturday night, a Nigerian Boeing 727 cargo airliner crashed in Accra, the capital of Ghana, slamming into a bus and killing 10 people. The plane belonged to Lagos-based Allied Air Cargo.