Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has announced that 32 people were killed when a military plane crashed in the southern part of the country. Reports indicate that the fatalities included 25 passengers and 7 crew members.
Festus Keyamo, the country’s Minister of Aviation, stated that the aircraft was on a routine mission to Lagos—Nigeria’s economic hub—on Monday (October 5) when it crashed in the Igbokoda area of Ondo State.
He further explained that contact with the aircraft was lost at 9:00 AM local time on Monday, shortly after takeoff. It subsequently crashed at a location midway between Edo State and Lagos.
The wreckage of the plane was located near a Nigerian naval base.
The country’s Air Force confirmed that the crashed aircraft was an ATR-42 model and that search and rescue operations were launched immediately following the accident.
A video circulating on social media shows a crowd of onlookers gathering as rescue teams conducted operations by boat.
A local resident reported, “The plane knocked down some trees. We found the remains of several individuals, along with some clothing and shoes.”
