Sixteen people were killed when a small passenger plane, operated by Nigeria's Associated Airlines, crashed a little after takeoff outside Lagos airport's domestic terminal on Thursday, Reuters reported. The chartered aircraft had on board the body of the former Governor of Ondo State, Olusegun Agagu in a casket.
Sources on ground said one of his sons was involved in the crash with the Commissioner for Tourism in Ondo State who had been detailed to accompany the corpse from Lagos, according to Nigerian media.
The aircraft came down in open ground near an aviation fuel depot, news reports said. There were four survivors, said Usman Muktar, Commissioner of the Accident and Prevention Bureau.
The identities of the victims were being withheld pending notification of relatives, news reports said.
"The plane was making a lot of noise before it came down," Rasheed Olajide, an engineer at the airport, told Reuters.
The Embraer 120 plane's fight recorder has been found an investigation has begun, Aviation Minister Stalla Oduah, adding that the Brazilian-made plane was flying to Akure, a town about 140 miles east of Lagos. The crash happened just after 9:30 a.m.
Embraer said it offered to help authorities investigate the crash of the 30-seater plane, Reuters also reported.
Nigeria has experienced a slew of air accidents, including last June's Dana Air aircraft which crashed into a Lagos apartment block killing 163 people.
