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Updated: June 4, 2012 A commuter flight plunged into a densely populated area of Lagos,Nigeria, on Sunday likely killing all 153 passengers as well asscores more on the ground. The flight hit two buildings beforeexploding into flames, an official told TIME. Surrounding homes andshops were also destroyed: television pictures showed the fuselageof the plane lodged in a building, one of its wings detached. The debris and raging fire meant rescue services were struggling toreach the crash site. "Thick black smoke is surrounding the areaand fire at the wreckage is making search and rescue effortsdifficult," said Tunji Oketunbi, a spokesman for Nigeria's AccidentInvestigation Bureau from the scene. Yushua Shuaib, spokesman forthe National Emergency Management, added that rescuers werestruggling to stop the fire from spreading in the densely packedarea. "Fire services are trying their best," he said. Nigeria'scivil aviation authority has yet to release an official death toll."It is unlikely anyone on-board the plane survived, unless there isa miracle," said Oketunbi. (MORE: The Fatal Flight of the Superjet 100: Why Did It Slam Into aMountain?) Lagos is home to at least 15 million people, many of them living incrowded shantytowns. he plane, which was arriving from from theNigerian capital Abuja, around two hours' flight to the north,crashed in the suburb of Agege, not far from Lagos's MurtalaMuhammed Airport. The area is highly populated. Clapperboardbusinesses and shacks tightly pack the dirt roads. Shuaib said manyresidents had been trapped in their homes by the fire or thecollapse of their building. "Some are critically injured," he said."We still can't determine whether the survivors are passengers orresidents." Relatives unable to reach family members by phonerushed to the crash site, fearing the worst. Though the death toll is and cause are as yet unknown, PresidentGoodluck Jonathan declared three days of national mourning andtried to reassure travelers about Nigerian air safety. "PresidentJonathan assures air travelers in the country that every possibleeffort will be made to ensure that the right lessons are learnedfrom the tragic loss of valuable lives in today's plane crash andthat further measures will be put in place to boost aviation safetyin the country," a statement from the Presidency said. (PHOTOS: Deadly Plane Crash in Pakistan) Nigeria has a poor record for airline safety. In 2006, 96 peopledied when an ADC airliner with 114 passengers on board crashed andburned on take-off from Abuja. Sunday's crash was the second in 24hours. On Saturday night, a Boeing 727 cargo plane crashed intoGhana's international airport,killing at least 10 people. The planewas coming from Lagos when it hit theground during a failedlanding. See TIME's Pictures of the Week. I am an expert from ego-electroniccigarettes.com, while we provides the quality product, such as China 510 Electronic Cigarettes , Electronic Disposable Cigarette Manufacturer, Elips E Cigarette,and more.
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