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Sunday Alamba / AP
Onlookers gather at the site of a plane crash Sunday in Lagos, Nigeria,
Updated at 5:19 p.m. ET: Nigerian authorities said Sunday that as many as 153 people were aboard a Dana Airlines passenger jet that crashed into a two-story building in Lagos, the country's largest city. "I don't believe there are any survivors," said Harold Denuren, Nigeria's director of aviation.
Authorities said that in addition to the passengers and crew aboard the plane, an unknown number of people may also have been killed or hurt on the ground. President Goodluck Jonathan canceled all appointments for Monday and declared three days of official mourning for the victims.
The plane was heading from Abuja, the capital, to Lagos when it went down about 3:30 p.m. local time (10:30 a.m. ET), authorities said. It crashed into a building and broke into two before burning up, witnesses said.
Local reports indicated that at least three buildings were severely damaged, one of them a church. Nigerian Eye reported from the scene that bodies could be seen burning on the ground, while pictures on the Internet showed large plumes of smoke across the city.
Police said they had recovered the plane's voice recorder. Al Jazeera reported from Abuja that witnesses said the the plane may have hit a power line in clear and sunny weather.
Razak Fadipe, acting head of the Lagos fire service, told The Daily Times of Nigeria that no one had been rescued alive as of 7:30 p.m. (2:30 p.m. ET) but that people were likely to be trapped in the one of the buildings.
Poor road access and a crowd of hundreds of people were complicating rescue efforts, in some cases blocking fire crews from reaching the scene.
"Our job is crucial to the rescue efforts," Fadipe said. "Without us doing our job, other rescue teams cannot gain access to even rescue any survivors that may be trapped in the building."
The Daily Times quoted a senior official of Dana Airlines, whom it didn't identify, as saying the plane had been undergoing repairs for several weeks.
"The station manager protested its use, but the Indian management insisted it should fly," the official said, according to The Daily Times.
The crash came after 10 other people were killed when a Boeing 727 cargo plane flying from Lagos crashed Saturday in Accra, the capital of Ghana, and hit a bus, the Sunday Tribune of Nigeria reported.
The crew of four survived, authorities said.
A senior military officer told the Sunday Tribune that the bus was severely damaged, while the plane's wings and tail broke off from its body.
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Leave a Comment:
Last sound heard on the flight recorder allahuackbar lulululululululululululululu
Not funny or cute.
That's right it isn't funny .
It is pretty funny actually since Islam is a cancer of this world. Still RIP to those poor folks on the flight.
Intolerance for Muslims is a far bigger problem than Islam.
Byron Raum
I'd say that Islamic intolerance of all non-believers is the a much bigger problem than you think.
Wake up Byron!
Byron is your typical follow the script PCer ..
RIP! My condolences to the families of the victims.
My goodness! I really hope my uncle wasn't on that flight. I'm still waiting for him to send me a check!
That is only if you sent him $5000 first...
:-)
Gah! Now I will never be rich!
Larger population = more accidents ! Pretty simple more flights = more crashes.. still sad .
think its funny that when a jury for the one guy is an issue TONS of messages and posts from racist people black AND white and all inbetween but this happens and BARLEY 43 comments?do u not care that a lot of your people were just tragicaly taken from you?i gues it dont matter unles some whites or other race does the supposed killin eh?pretty sad i dont see any people on here besides a few who acutaly give a dam that HUMAN BEINGS lives were taken ...as far as terrorist goes nothin has been stated accusing so so dont specualte on that just give dam that this hapend in a place thats homeland to a lot of people in US or at least they claim to care or represent that homeland anyway THATS what should matter not race or this other bs bein discussed....
Hmm??? Odd??? A jet airliner with a full belly of fuel crashes into a building in a Metropolis. Where have I heard this before?
I wonder.......If the incredible fire ball burned so hot, did the building collapse? They say the plane burned up. I wonder....did they find any plane engines lying around the ground, blocks away, intact, with only minimal charing and hardly any scratches? Or, did they find whole pieces of an airliner that actually looked as if it had been throug a horrific crash? Did they actually find an airplane? Or, did it disappear into oblivion upon impact?
Don't get me wrong, this is a tragedy and I feel for those who lost their lives, and for their families. I just think it's interesting how, in some ways, the things that happen today, disprove the things that happened before. But then again....maybe the chemistry and physics of jet fuel and planes crashing is different in other Nations and therefor couldn't possibly be compared to anything that took place in America? (Yes, that's sarcasm)
Take off the tinfoil hat Tamara.
You have a Terrorist in the Ground Crew. How many more plane crashes must happen before Nigera faces the facts.
That was a mean thing to say. A lot of scam come out of Nigeria, but not ALL Nigerians are crooks and scammers. The same way that the American street gang violence is the highest rate in the world, but not ALL Americans are gang thugs.
So not only are you mean and inhumane, you also lack basic common sense.
Maybe this Pilot just got done reading a “Sarah Palin” book….became Confused, Irrational and Lost his Mind. It seems to be a “Side Effect”.
You BetCha….Fer Sure.
The air disaster of Dana Air (operational since 2008 and one of the better ones) crashed after takeoff from Lagos on its way to Abuja. It hit a 3-story bldg where part of the plane is nesting and parts are strewn all around. Not known how many people were inside the 3-story bldg. The plane burst into flames at first contact and the hit bldg is crumbling fast. Weather was clear- not a factor. Abuja is Nigeria's capitol. Sympathies for families of the air disaster in the plane and on the ground. Nigeria has had its part of 'questionable aircrafts but Dana Air is one of the best.
Was there any Republican TeaBilly Conservatives on da Plane?
No just some politically correct libtards so it was no big thang ..
How would Mitt "Profits over People" Romney handle this situation?
Prayer and a Moment of Silence.
You BetCha......Fer Sure.
jstdafacts: Maybe Obama will come on tv and say he can see the pilots as his sons. which they are.
What till the TSA gets involved and they will be asked. It's sad to say it's still safer to fly than to drive. Don't be sarcastic about anything life is life and all needs to be respected.
Only 147 dead,well it's a good start anyway.147 fewer E-mail scams coming to my junk folder this week! The only thing Nigerians are good for is keeping fat women happy,they sure love them big girls! ( I of course am being completely sarcastic )so you hater trolls can just suk my balls!
I heard the pilot was handed a Box of KFC chicken and a watermelon and he forgot about flying the plane.
Funny how many black people love KFC....................Who's founder & mascot is an old southern white man called "The Colonel" LOL!
I don't understand why they get all pissed when someone accuses them of liking chicken and watermelon .If someone accused me of liking burgers ,I'd be saying so what ? What an insult I'm a burger likin whitey .
Black people really are bunch of decent people, brought to live amongst savages, you never see racist comments made by black people in tragedgy involving white people, but the other way around you see nothing, but racism and hate by these sub-humanoids. Look at their words no class at all, we should have let them rot in their caves. smh
LOL...........Rev. Al sharpton would be so proud of you,hating the white devil
We'll be getting a lot of stories now about how my Uncle died and left me 10 million dollars in the local Nigerian Bank and I'll share it with you if you'll just cash the check for me.
Quelle horreur!
My condolences to the family & friends of all involved. I hope that whatever casualties on the ground were minimal and that the injured recover quickly.
The same kind of thing will happen in the U.S. if the GOP gets power....Promising to strip government regulations in many areas, profit and greed will take more precedence than safety.......
I'll bet the ever increasing price of tin foil is affecting you economically.
I'll bet in your world if we had Gay Marriage and Stimulus II this would never have happened right?
proudamericanveteran,
Your reply makes no sense just like your believes.....Your screen name is a bragging way of saying you think you have some special privilege to voice imeyour asinine opinions on others.... I am a Vietnam veteran, you don't have crap on me trust me....You are not what you claim to be...and your ignorant comments are just that ignorant and maybe shows you had brain damage from your time in the military..
The tailfin appears to be that of an old MD-83, which is the primary aircraft of Dana, seating 128 in Economy and 12 in Business. The normal crew of 2 and cabin staff of 6 or 8 would mean 148 to 150 souls aboard.
This account says the plane was INbound, not departing, meaning pilot error would be the most likely cause, given the perfect weather conditions and apparent lack of any indications of trouble by the cockpit crew on approach. Eyewitnesses accounts of the plane striking a power line seem out of context, as there are no powerlines close to either of the runway approaches.
Sorry - they just corrected, saying the plane was definitely OUTbound. The photo would indicate that the plane pancaked into the building, not smashed into it nose-first - so the non-deployment of wing flaps can not be ruled out - the MD-83 can take off with a full load on one engine, so it is most likely not a loss of power that caused the crash.
Look at all of those cellphones taking pics.
its a realaty that we have to go with security i just deal with i have been pull aside for aditional check and pat down i just joke with that agent and tell him to be gentle am sure he does not want to be feeling the genitals of a 54 year old fart like me on a sunday morning so just make it easy and whe his done i tell him at least he could have taken me for a cup of coffe first just take in stride people and dont dwel on minor @!$%# its their job
Sad, and tragic. 147 lives gone in a instant......Thoughts and prayers for the families.
So, I guess the Nigerian Oil minister was killed in the crash- so we should be getting an email from some Barrister offering us a once in a lifetime secret deal to help move millions of dollars, right?
This absolutely sucks! The honorable Barrister Habib that had my $12 million dollar check from a long lost relative with no known heirs but had the same last name as me was on that plane.
Civial Aviation Authority? I'm not sure what 'Civial' is, but I bet they had something to do with it.