LAGOS, (Reuters) – A passenger plane carrying almost 150 people crashed into a densely populated part of Lagos today, in what looked like a major disaster in Nigeria’s commercial hub.
A source at the national emergency management agency said the aircraft belonged to privately owned domestic carrier Dana Air and had 147 people on board.
Thousands of people crowded around the wreckage, which was billowing black smoke, in the Agege suburb of the city. Witnesses said they had seen the plane strike a building and burst into flames.
Some look stunned, while others took pictures with their camera phones of the crash scene, in a run down part of town where ramshackle tin-roofed houses line mud roads.
Dana officials and civil aviation authority were not immediately available for comment and there was no word on casualties.
Air crashes are not uncommon in Nigeria, Africa’s second biggest economy, which has a poor airline safety record.
