Nigeria mourns 25 killed as military plane crashes into swamp

Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu has declared three days of national mourning after a military aircraft crashed in southern Ondo State, killing 25 people.

Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo on Monday said 32 people had died but on Tuesday the Air Force clarified that 25 people had been killed – five crew and 20 passengers.

Authorities say the plane was on a routine mission from Benin City to Lagos when it came down in a swamp near a naval base on Monday morning. After reaching the site, the aircraft was found to be submerged under water, officials said.

A resident told the BBC that clothes and shoes had been found at the site. Smoke could be seen rising from the area.

It is the deadliest crash involving a Nigerian military aircraft since 1992.

The Nigerian Air Force has released the names of those killed, showing that 19 of those on board were military personnel.

Tinubu offered his deepest condolences to those killed and has ordered a full investigation.

The president also ordered national flags to be flown at half-mast across the country as a mark of respect for those who died.

“This is a painful moment for our Armed Forces and for the entire nation,” Tinubu said.

“Our Air Force personnel put their lives on the line every day to secure Nigeria. Their sacrifice will never be forgotten,” he added.

The aviation minister earlier said he had been informed “of the disappearance of a military aircraft with tail number NGR 931, enroute Lagos from Benin at 0913 hours earlier today”.

Keyamo said “efforts to raise the aircraft on radio proved abortive” before subsequent confirmation that it had crashed near a naval base in Igbokoda, Ondo state.

He said search and rescue efforts were ongoing.

The crashed plane, described as an ATR-42 aircraft, carries between 30 and 50 passengers, according to its manufacturers.

Tinubu has ordered the Air Force to immediately begin a thorough investigation into the cause of the crash to help prevent similar incidents in the future.

The Nigerian Air Force plays a key role in the country’s military operations, including efforts to tackle armed groups and insecurity in several parts of the country.

In May 2021, Nigeria’s army chief, Lt-Gen Ibrahim Attahiru, was killed in a plane crash alongside 10 other officers in the north-western state of Kaduna amid bad weather.

In February of the same year, seven people died after a military plane crashed short of a runway in the capital Abuja.