Dana passenger airplane heading from Abuja to Lagos crashes in Iju, Nigeria

A commercial airliner operated by Dana Air has crashed in the Iju area of Lagos today. The aircraft was arriving from Abuja on a local flight when it crashed into a powerline in the area.

A commercial airliner operated by Dana Air has crashed in the Iju area of Lagos today. The aircraft was arriving from Abuja on a local flight when it crashed into a powerline in the area.

The plane had 153 passengers on board.

Femi Oke-Osanyinpolu, Lagos state emergency state manager, said Sunday that casualty numbers are unknown.

Harold Denuren, head of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, confirmed the crash. He said the Dana Air flight was heading from Abuja to Lagos in Nigeria. He said federal authorities were on their way to the site of the crash.

Witnesses said they saw the plane strike a building and burst into flames.

Air crashes are not uncommon in Nigeria, Africa’s second biggest economy, which has a poor airline safety record.

This came just minutes after reports of a bomb blast in Bauch.

The number of casualties on the plane and on the ground have not been ascertained.

A spokesman for Nigerian airline Dana confirmed one of its planes had crashed but could not immediately provide further details.

“I can confirm that one of our planes crashed today on the outskirts of Lagos,” Tony Usidamen told AFP, “We lost communication with the aircraft. We are going to issue an official statement.”

Lagos, the largest city in Africa’s most populous nation, is home to an estimated 15 million people.

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Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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