Nigerian airliner crashes with 105 on board
At least 116 killed in Nigeria plane crash
04 May, 2002 19:23 BST
KANO, Nigeria (Reuters) - A Nigerian airliner has crashed into a densely populated district of the northern city of Kano, killing at least 116 people, including 40 on the ground, aviation officials have said.
The airliner, bound for the commercial capital Lagos, crashed as it took off from Kano's airport, ploughing into shacks and a mosque and starting a number of fires, the officials said.
"There were 69 passengers and seven crew members on board," an official of the Federal Aviation Authority of Nigeria told Reuters, correcting earlier reports of 105 on the plane.
"All passengers and crew are feared dead," he added.
A fire service official said dozens of people were killed in their homes when the twin-engined BAC 1-11-500 operated by EAS Airlines crashed into the impoverished residential district of Gwammaja.
"Ten buildings were hit by the plane. As of now the bodies of about 40 people have been recovered from the houses," he said.
The aviation official said the plane had stopped over in Kano on a flight from the central city of Jos. Airport officials said earlier it crashed as it came in to land from Jos.
Poorly equipped fire crews and other emergency workers battled flames and thick smoke from the smashed buildings, which included a school.
A Christening ceremony was taking place in one of the houses when the plane ploughed through it, witnesses said.
The last major Nigerian air crash occurred in November 1996, when a Nigerian Boeing 727 flying from Port Harcourt to Lagos crashed, killing all 142 passengers and nine crew members.
Nigeria deregulated its airline industry in the mid-1980s and many companies sprang up to challenge the monopoly of state carrier Nigeria Airways.
Aviation authorities and passengers have raised concerns about the older aircraft used by the dozen or so local airline companies. Only last month the Nigerian government announced a ban on the use of aircraft older than 22 years, a move that triggered strong protests from private local airline operators.
EAS is one of several private airlines servicing the country's domestic air routes. Between October 1998 and December 1999, it took delivery of four BAC 1-11-500s, which are widely used in Nigeria.
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