Missing plane 'believed to have crashed'

Military helicopters searched in vain for a missing passenger plane that was carrying at least 114 people when it disappeared from radar shortly after taking off from Nigeria's biggest city, officials said today.

The Boeing 737 aircraft, operated by Nigerian-run Bellview Airlines, lost contact with the control tower five minutes after taking off from the international airport in Lagos at 8:45 p.m. (2045 BST) on Saturday, said Jide Ibinola, a spokesman for the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria.