Today's Edition
LAGOS (AFP)
A Nigerian Air Force plane crashed on Monday in the country's southwestern Ondo state, killing all 32 people on board, President Bola Tinubu said.
The passenger aircraft was on a "routine mission" from Benin City in southern Nigeria to the economic hub of Lagos when it went down at Igbokoda in Ondo state shortly after 9am (0800 GMT), the president and the airforce said.
"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.
Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo said earlier on X that the plane had crashed near a naval base. Keyamo and Tinubu described it as an ATR-42 - a twin-engine turboprop that the manufacturers say can carry between 30 and 50 passengers.
A video circulating on social media showed a small crowd gathered near a river while rescuers searched the area by boat.
The president said he had "directed the Nigerian Air Force to immediately commence a thorough investigation into the cause of the crash to prevent future occurrences".
Igbokoda is located in Ilaje, an oil-producing region in southern Nigeria.
