Both engines on the Nigerian Dana Air flight that crashed into a building on final approach to Lagos airport failed moments before touchdown, officials said yesterday.
Harold Demuren, the head of the Nigerian civil aviation authority, said the pilot of the Boeing MD-83 had radioed to "declare mayday" because "the two engines had failed".
More than 150 people died when the jet crashed into a block of flats in a heavily-populated area close to the start of the runway at Nigeria's largest city's Murtala Muhammed International Airport.
The flight, operated by the privately-owned Dana Air, was carrying 146 passengers and seven crew for the one hour shuttle service from Abuja, the capital.
Rescue workers continued to comb the wreckage yesterday, and a large construction crane was brought in to allow major sections of the aircraft's fuselage to be moved.
Goodluck Jonathan, Nigeria's president, vowed that Sunday's crash would "not be repeated". The country has a history of air crashes that investigators say are caused by poor maintenance of aircraft and ageing fleets.
"We have been working very hard to improve the aviation in this country," Mr Jonathan said after visiting the site of the crash, in the suburb of Agege. "This particular incident is a major setback for us. By the end of the day, I will make sure that this will not repeat itself in the country."
More than 90 bodies had been recovered by yesterday afternoon, said Oke Osanyintolu, head of Lagos state's National Emergency Management Agency, who was directing the search operation from the scene. Search and rescue teams found what they believed to be the plane's black box flight recorder and handed it over to police.
The number of people who died on the ground is still not known.
"They're still busy recovering bodies. I believe some people were killed on the land as well as on the plane, though we don't yet have a precise idea of numbers," said Tunji Oketunbi, a spokesman for Nigeria's Accident Investigation Bureau.
Crowds of people pushing for a glimpse of the crash site were yesterday forced back by police firing tear gas canisters.
No comments:
Post a Comment