LAGOS, Nigeria – A Nigerian Air Force plane crashed in the country’s southwest on Monday, killing all 32 people on board, President Bola Tinubu confirmed.

The passenger aircraft was travelling on a routine mission from Benin City in southern Nigeria to Lagos when it went down at Igbokoda in Ondo state shortly after 9:00am local time.

“The president extends his deepest condolences to the family of the 25 passengers and seven crew members involved,” Tinubu’s office said in a statement.

Tinubu declared three days of national mourning and directed that flags fly at half-staff across the country to honour the officers.

The crash marks one of the worst air disasters in recent years in Africa’s most populous country.

Investigation underway

The plane crashed near a naval base, according to the presidency and Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo.

Both officials described the aircraft as an ATR-42 – a twin-engine turboprop that manufacturers say can carry between 30 and 50 passengers.

Tinubu directed the Nigerian Air Force to immediately start a thorough investigation into the cause of the crash to prevent future incidents.

The Air Force will release the identities of the victims after notifying their families, the presidency said.

Eyewitness describes scene

Dayo Akinte (39), a firewood hawker who lives about a kilometre from where the crash occurred, told AFP she heard a sound she thought was “thunder” at the time the plane went down.

Since the crash, “three aircraft have also been flying over the scene,” she said by phone.

She said someone who went fishing in the swamp alerted the nearby naval base and people in the town about the crash.

A video circulating on social media showed a small crowd gathered near a river while rescuers searched the area by boat.

Search and rescue operations

Air Force spokesman Ehimen Ejodame said “search and rescue operations” were ongoing “in coordination with relevant authorities and emergency response agencies”.

Police confirmed the accident but provided no details.

Igbokoda is located in Ilaje, an oil-producing region in southern Nigeria.

Previous crashes

In May 2021, Nigeria’s top-ranking army commander, Lieutenant General Ibrahim Attahiru, and 10 other officers died when their plane crashed in bad weather while trying to land at Kaduna state airport in the north.

Seven people died when a military plane crashed into a house in northern Nigeria in August 2015, killing everyone on board.

Earlier that same month, a helicopter crashed into a lagoon in Lagos, killing six people, including the American pilot.

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