Nigeria launches rescue after military plane crashes with 32 aboard

Nigeria has launched a search-and-rescue operation after a military aircraft carrying 32 people crashed in Ondo state in the country’s southwest.

The wreckage of the aircraft has been located near the naval base in Igbokoda, Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo said on Monday. The plane disappeared while flying from Benin to Lagos.

“The wreckage has been located and search and rescue operations are ongoing,” Keyamo said in a statement on social media.

He added that preliminary information indicated that 25 passengers and seven crew members were on board.

Air traffic controllers lost contact with the aircraft at 09:13 local time (0813 GMT). Repeated attempts to reach it by radio were unsuccessful.

The Nigerian air force said the plane was an ATR-42 that had been travelling to Lagos on a routine flight. Rescue teams have been deployed to the crash site.

Keyamo said he had spoken with Nigeria’s Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke, and offered the Aviation Ministry’s “total cooperation and assistance” in the rescue effort.

Authorities have not yet confirmed any casualties, and it was not immediately clear how badly the aircraft was damaged.