62 bodies pulled from wreckage of Nigeria plane crash

The Boeing MD-80 plane, operated by Dana Air, was flying from Abuja, the capital, to Lagos. Rescue workers have so far pulled at least 62 bodies from the wreckage of a plane that crashed in Nigeria's largest city of Lagos, an official said as searches pressed on Monday at the site of the devastation.
A church, a two-storey residential building and a printing shop were badly damaged. The number of those killed on the ground remained unclear.
Smoke was still rising from the scene and water trucks were also brought in to douse the smouldering wreckage, says Telegraph.co.uk.

Photo: AP photo

In compliance with the President's directive, the Minister of Aviation, Princess Stella Oduah, has already left Abuja for Lagos to oversee the crash investigations and present an interim report to the Federal Government as quickly as possible.
'The President joins all Nigerians in mourning all those who lost their lives in the plane crash which has sadly plunged the nation into further sorrow on a day when Nigerians were already in grief over the loss of many other innocent lives in the church bombing in Bauchi State.
'President Jonathan assures air travellers in the country that every possible effort will be made to ensure that the right lessons are learnt from the tragic loss of valuable lives in today's plane crash and that further measures will be put in place to boost aviation safety in the country,' the statement said, informs Afrique en Ligue.

Witness Praise Richard, who lives just a short distance from where the plane came down, said: 'I don't think there will be any survivors. It would take a miracle.' The incident occurred just a short distance from Murtala Muhammed Airport, where the plane was due to land after flying from Abuja in central Nigeria. It is the latest in a string of air disasters in Nigeria's history, with the country renowned for its poor safety record, according to Metro.