At least 94 bodies have been recovered from the site of Dana Air plane
crash which occurred on Sunday afternoon in Lagos, southwest Nigeria,
and the airline has cancelled all its flights nationwide.
“The information we have now is that 94 bodies have been recovered
from the site of the crash and brought to the Lagos State General
Hospital. Some of the bodies are burnt beyond recognition and the
hospital is carrying out DNA tests to help you identify your loved
ones,” Corporate Communications Manager of Dana Air, Mr Tony Usidiamen,
told relatives of the victims at the Lagos airport today.
The
crash killed 153 people on board and others on the ground. Major General
Tahir Umar whose name appeared on the manifest missed the flight, army
officials told P.M.NEWS today at the Dana Accident Information Centre located at the Murtala Muhammed Airport Two, MMA2.
Six children and six infants were among the victims and entire family members were also killed.
In
a statement, Dana Air Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Jacky Hathiramani,
said he was deeply saddened by the tragic loss of passengers and crew
members and promised to keep them informed.
“The Dana Air family
is deeply saddened by the tragic loss of the passengers and crew of
Flight 9J-922 of Sunday, June 3, 2012. The aircraft, with registration
Number 5N-RAM, departed Abuja for Lagos with 146 passengers on board.
One Dana Air Flight Engineer, 2 Pilots and 4 Cabin Crew were also aboard
the flight.
“We extend our deepest sympathies to the families and
friends of the deceased, and we are doing everything we can to assist
them in this extremely difficult time. A 24 hour Call Centre service has
been initiated and we have also set up an information centre at MMA2 to
look after their needs and keep them as quickly informed as possible.
Contact Numbers: 01-2809888 and 07003593262.”
The McDonnell
Douglas MD-83 was coming into land on a flight from the capital Abuja
when it hit the buildings, not far from Lagos’s Murtala Muhammed
Airport, at 2:44 p.m. and burst into flames, according to the airline.
Among
the dead was the spokesman for the Nigeria National Petroleum
Corporation, Levi Ajuonuma, according to a passenger list released by
the airline.
Ajuonuma was also the spokesman for the oil minister in OPEC member Nigeria, Africa’s biggest crude producer.
Also among the dead were Onita Jennifer and Onita Josephine, two sisters who came to Nigeria for the first time recently.
Another
victims was a young woman who graduated from Covenant University,
completed her youth service corps and went for a masters degree abroad
and had just returned to Nigeria.
Also among the dead was Shehu
Usman Saad, one of the directors of Premium Pension. His three brothers
and a son came to the Lagos Airport to identify him. He had ten sons,
his first son, Mubarak Saad, who just clocked 28 told P.M.NEWS.
Also
among the dead was Emeka Okere, his brother, Michael Okere said, adding
that he had been General Manager at Diamond Bank and was recently
employed by FCMB. He was coming to Lagos for a seminar. He was married
and had two children.
At the Iju Ishaga site of the crash a combined search and rescue operation was ongoing.
The
Chief Executive Officer, Lagos State Emergency Management Authority,
LASEMA, Dr Femi Oke-Osanyintolu disclosed that dead bodies recovered so
far from the plane are 70 as at round 10 am today. By 13.00 today, the
figure had jumped 115.
Osanyintolu added that five injured people
were also removed from the two storey building which the plane plunged
into, saying four of them had been treated and discharged while one is
still in the hospital.
He stated that the dead people had been taken to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH.
According
to Osanyintolu, DNA test would be conducted on the dead bodies to
ascertain who is who, while he was silent on the issue of mass burial
for unidentified victims.
Two cranes arrived early Monday to clear
debris and allow rescue workers better access to the densely populated
area near the airport where the Dana Air plane crashed on Sunday, with
the 153 people on board presumed dead.
A few thousand onlookers
gathered at the site, where 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.
“We were lucky. We just finished our church service when this thing happened,” one resident at the scene on Monday morning said.
One
woman, who said that her uncle had been aboard the plane, asked rescue
workers if she could have access to the site, but they refused, saying
the bodies were unrecognisable.
President Goodluck Jonathan has declared three days of national mourning for victims of the crash.
Governor
Babatunde Fashola has directed that people who were displaced from the
buildings around as a result of the crash be rehabilitated at the Lagos
State Relief Camp, Agbowa area of the state.
Governor Babatunde
Fashola was at the scene of the crash this morning and described the
incident as horiffic and condoled with those who lost their lives.
The governor said he lacked words to express the pains he felt, saying that the incident is sad and tough.
“These
are people trying to earn a living and ended up like this. Families,
pilot, crew and others have had their lives cut short. It is painful. I
also condole with the Dana Air over the loss,” he said.
“Some victims from the houses survive with injuries and are in our hospitals, we need everybody’s support”, he added.
Fashola
appealed to members of the public to allow the rescue operators to do
their job and ordered the police to arrest anyone trying to prove
difficult.
Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State was aslo at the scene this morning where he condoled with families of the victims.
President Goodluck Jonathan was also expected at the crash site Monday.
Source: PM News
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