WORLD NEWS At least 11 dead after passenger plane crashes near Nigeria airport
Henrie Eduozor
Bystanders at the scene of a plane crash in Lagos on Thursday.
By Carlo Dellaverson, Staff Writer, NBC News At least 11 people were killed Thursday when a passenger plane crashed near an airport in Nigeria's largest city, authorities said.
The Nigeria National Emergency Management Agency said that the aircraft crashed after taking off from Lagos. It had been bound for the city of Akure, about 170 miles away. At least 11 people were confirmed dead and at least one passenger survived the crash, the agency said.
GM of LASEMA, confirms 11 dead, four hospitalised in crashed Akure-bound aircraft in Lagos today 11:22 AM - 3 Oct 2013
NEMA Nigeria @nemanigeria Follow
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Reuters reported that 27 people were aboard the chartered Associated Airlines plane.
"The plane couldn't lift properly so it just came down," Aviation Ministry spokesman Joe Obi told Reuters.
Witness Henrie Eduozor told NBC News he was on his way to the airport in Lagos when he saw smoke rising from a nearby field. He said people ran toward the scene screaming “There’s been a crash!”
Eduozo saw three bodies being removed from the wreckage.
Air crashes are relatively common in Nigeria, which despite having Africa's second-biggest economy has a poor safety record.
Murtala Muhammed International Airport was the scene of a June 2012 crash that killed 163 people.
