U N I T E D N A T I O N S
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
Integrated Regional Information Network (IRIN)

NIGERIA: At least 148 died in Kano plane crash

LAGOS, 6 May (IRIN) - At least 148 people died in the northern Nigerian city
of Kano on Saturday when a jet aircraft crashed into a densely populated
neighbourhood soon after takeoff , Red Cross officials said.

The twin-engine, British-built BAC 1-11-500 bound for Lagos with 71
passengers and eight crew members ploughed through about a dozen buildings
in the Gwammaja quarters of Kano, killing 74 passengers and as many people
on the ground. Scores of people were injured.

"We can confirm that 148 people died. They included passengers on the
aircraft as well as people on the ground, but the figure could be more,"
Patrick Bawa, spokesman of the Nigerian Red Cross told IRIN on Sunday.

Among the dead was Nigeria's minister of sports, Ishaya Mark Aku, on his way
to Lagos to watch a friendly football match between the national team and
Kenya.

EAS Airline, the operators of the aircraft, said four people, including
three passengers and one crew member survived the crash.

The flight had originated in the central city of Jos and made a brief stop
in Kano to take in more passengers. Air traffic control officials said the
pilot reported problems with one of the engines just before the plane went
down.

Recovery teams were still scouring the crash site on Sunday, retrieving the
dead. Red Cross vehicles worked through Saturday and Sunday, taking bodies
to mortuaries across the city.

President Olusegun Obasanjo, who was on a tour of southern Africa when the
accident occurred, cut short his trip to return home. In a broadcast to the
nation early on Sunday, Obasanjo declared two days of mourning and said
investigations would be launched immediately.

"This is an accident that calls for immediate and detailed investigation to
ascertain the cause or causes and to prevent reoccurrence," he said.

The president added that foreign experts would be invited if necessary to
ensure a thorough investigation.

The crash represents Nigeria's worst aviation accident since 1996, when a
Boeing 727 aircraft operated by another local airliner, Aviation Development
Company, plunged into the Lagos lagoon while approaching to land, killing
all 145 passengers and crew on board.

[ENDS]

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