By Camillus Eboh and MacDonald Dzirutwe ABUJA, Oct 5 (Reuters) – A Nigerian military plane flying from Benin City to Lagos crashed on Monday in southwestern Ondo state, killing all 25 passengers and crew members. The Nigerian Air Force death toll announced on Tuesday was lower than the 32 initially announced by Aviation Minister Festus […]
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Nigerian military aircraft crashes, killing 25
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By Camillus Eboh and MacDonald Dzirutwe
ABUJA, Oct 5 (Reuters) – A Nigerian military plane flying from Benin City to Lagos crashed on Monday in southwestern Ondo state, killing all 25 passengers and crew members.
The Nigerian Air Force death toll announced on Tuesday was lower than the 32 initially announced by Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo on Monday.
“NAF 931 had 25 persons on board, comprising five crew members and 20 passengers,” NAF said in a statement.
There were no survivors.
President Bola Tinubu has ordered an investigation and declared three days of national mourning.
The Air Force ATR-42 aircraft was on a routine mission from Benin City to Lagos when air traffic controllers lost contact with it at 0813 GMT on Monday, Keyamo said. The accident was one of the deadliest air disasters in Nigeria in recent years.
The wreckage was later located near the coastal town of Igbokoda, where search and rescue teams were deployed.
(Reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe and Camillus Eboh and Tife Owolabi, Editing by Elisha Bala-Gbogbo, Aidan Lewis, Peter Graff)