Eye witnesses accounts of Dana Air crash in Lagos with over 153 persons feared died
Lagos (WorldStage Newsonline)-- The entire 153 passengers in an aircraft operated by Dana Airlines which crashed into a densely populated area in Lagos, and the residents of the two buildings in Toyin Area of Iju Ishaga area where it crashed, were feared perished on Sunday.
Eye witness accounts said the aircraft was seeing struggling to gain balance as it was coming down before it finally crashed into the buildings.
]Sources who witnessed the crashed said the aircraft crashed first into a coconut palm and mango trees before it finally fell onto a factory and a two story buildings. An eye witness, Kabiru Salami, a resident of No 107 Odetunde Street, who said he was on the top floor of his house when the aircraft crashed on the factory and the two story building claimed the aircraft did not nosedive, rather it had its nose up and the tail closer to the ground before it finally hit the two building with its belly while the tail hit the factory building.
"I was outside on the balcony when suddenly I saw the aircraft coming down forcefully. The aircraft was moving in a zigzag manner. I was shocked when one of its wings push down the coconut and mango tree on its path. It did not come down with its nose. The nose was raised up while the tail side went down till it hit the two story buildings with its belly side and finally fell on both the building and the factory.” he said. Another eyewitness, a Pastor Fredrick Akingbe, the owner of building number 5 which was the third building to the factory located at number 9, Popoola Street said that he had just left his church located next to the factory where the aircraft crashed when he heard a big bang and by the time he came out, thick smoke was bellowing into the atmosphere and he had to run out of the building .Confirming Kiburu statement, Akingbe said the aircraft did not explode immediately it crashed on the building.
“I had just returned from the church and undressing when I heard a big bang. I quickly rushed out only to find out that an aircraft had fell into those buildings, suddenly there was a big smoke which enveloped the entire area including my house. I ran out but before we knew what to do there were explosion about four times and the aircraft burst into a very ball of fire which caught the entire buildings and part of my church where I preached this afternoon. But before we also knew what was happening, the entire place had been crowded by on lookers who trooped to this place in their thousands. So, nobody could move near the buildings to rescue anything.
At the scene of the crash, rescue workers were seen putting out the fire while the bodies of some of the residents of the two story buildings were evacuated from the wreckage of the building .