Five Britons injured in Nigeria plane crash

Five British crew members were injured when a Boeing 747 cargo plane crashed in southeastern Nigeria, local radio said today.

One crew member was killed in yesterday’s crash, but the British High Commission denied earlier reports that the man was British.

The MK Airlines plane was approaching the city of Port Harcourt to land when it crashed about 700 yards short of the airport.

State-run radio reported the 13 crew members on board included 11 Britons and two Americans. But John Chap, spokesman for the British High Commission in Abuja, said he could not confirm the identities of those on board.

Six crew members were admitted to a local private hospital with serious injuries, according to the radio station, which said an engineer later died of his wounds.

The airline had arranged for the crew to be flown out of Nigeria as soon as possible, British officials said.

The plane, which had been chartered by Panalpina World Trans Limited freight company, was travelling from Luxembourg when it attempted to land in Nigeria to deliver supplies for local oil operations, radio reports said.

The plane broke in two upon impact, scattering computers, piping and other equipment over a wide area, witnesses said.

It was not immediately clear what caused the crash.

Aviation officials did not return repeated calls seeking details. Officials at MK Airlines and Panalpina also did not immediately comment.

Nigeria is the world’s 12th largest oil producer. Port Harcourt - about 300 miles south of the capital, Abuja is the main city in the Niger Delta, where most of the country’s oil is drilled.