Plane crashes into building, killing all 153 on board

A passenger plane carrying more than 150 people crashed into a densely populated part of Lagos, killing all on board in what looked like a major disaster in Nigeria’s commercial hub.

Nigeria’s Civil Aviation Authority’s Harold Denuren confirmed that all 153 people on board died.

Thousands of people crowded around a two-storey tin-roofed building into which the aircraft plunged. Authorities said an unknown number of people on the ground were likely also killed.

The plane, operated by domestic carrier Dana Air was coming into land on a flight from the capital Abuja, officials on condition of anonymity said as they were not authorised to talk to the media.

Police used truncheons to beat back onlookers, trying to make a path for rescue services, but the crowd was so large that ambulances were unable to get through.

The plane burst into flames after hitting the building in the city’s Agege suburb, not far from Lagos’s Murtala Muhammed Airport, witnesses said.

“We heard a huge explosion, and at first we thought it was a gas canister,” said Timothy Akinyela, a local newspaper reporter who was in a pub near the crash site.

“Then there were some more explosions afterwards and everyone ran out. It was terrifying. There was confusion and shouting,” he said.

Smoke billowed from the windows and roof of the building that had somehow survived being completely demolished by the crash.

Locals climbed on top of walls to try to look in. Bits of the plane were scattered on the muddy ground.

Air crashes are not uncommon in Nigeria, which has a poor airline safety record.

Dana Air’s website says it operates Boeing MD-83 planes to cities around Nigeria out of Murtala Muhammed Airport.