Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Nigeria passenger plane crashes into building

Updated at 5:31 pm on 4 June 2012

Three days of mourning have begun in Nigeria for more than 150 people killed when a plane crashed shortly after takeoff near Lagos airport.

The Dana Air plane struck a two-storey building in the country's main city and burst into flames on Sunday.

Nigeria's Civil Aviation Authority said there were no survivors on board plane carrying 150 people. There were also casualties on the ground, but it is not known how many. However, an emergency official says at least 10 bodies have been removed from the building, the BBC reports.

The commercial plane was flying from the Nigerian capital, Abuja, to Lagos when it crashed and burst into flames in Iju neighbourhood, just north of the airport.

Thousands of onlookers gathered at the site as rescue services searched rubble for survivors. Television pictures showed chaotic scenes as some of the crowd helped pass along hoses to put the fire out.

Plane wreckage including a detached wing was scattered around and the body of the plane was lodged into a building.

The cause of the crash is not yet known.

The BBC reports a Dana Air plane - possibly the same one - developed a technical problem and was forced to make an emergency landing in Lagos in May.

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