Civilians Among Victims Of Nigerian Air Force Plane Crash: Military
Abuja, Nigeria: Civilian family members were travelling aboard a Nigerian Air Force plane when it crashed, the military said Tuesday, as search operations continued for a second day.
In one of the country's worst air disasters in recent years, 32 people were killed when an ATR-42 twin-engine turboprop went down Monday morning in a swampy area near a naval base in Ondo state.
"The aircraft was on a routine mission from Benin City to Lagos with military personnel and some members of families on board," Major General Samaila Uba, spokesman for Defence Headquarters, said in a statement Tuesday.
An investigation "will be conducted to ascertain the cause of the accident", he added.
Military and emergency services were conducting what Uba described as "search and rescue" efforts, though no survivors -- only bodies -- are expected to be found.
President Bola Tinubu said all 32 people aboard -- 25 passengers and seven crew -- were killed.
"This is a painful moment for our armed forces and for the entire nation," Tinubu said Monday, declaring three days of public mourning.
A video circulating on social media showed a small crowd gathered near a river while rescuers searched the area by boat.
The plane crashed near the town of Igbokoda, located in Ilaje, an oil-producing region in southern Nigeria.
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