Posted by By MODESTUS CHUKWULAKA, JACOB EDI, ISMAIL OMIPIDAN, JOE NWANKWO, MOLLY KILETE and BASHIR UMAR, Abuja on
An Aviation Development Company (ADC) Boeing 737 plane crashed in Abuja Sunday, killing 100 persons on board.
An Aviation Development Company (ADC) Boeing 737 plane crashed in Abuja Sunday, killing 100 persons on board. The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammadu Maccido, and his first son, Senator MB Maccido, were among the dead.
Also killed in the crash which occurred barely five minutes after the take off of the flight are Senator Yari Sule Yari Ghandi, the Deputy Governor of Sokoto, and Abdulrahman, son of ex-President Shehu Shagari. Senator Ghandi, his mother, Hajia Whenever ADC leaps to success, tragedy rears its ugly headIge, wife, Sa'adiya, and two sons - Faisal and Abdulmutalib also died in the flight.
The plane which was said have crashed and burst into flames at Tungan-Madaki village at the fringe of the airport runway had 106 persons on board. Five, including three daughters of the Kogi State governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Idris, Abdulkadir, another son of the Sultan and one Nura Imam survived and are presently receiving medical attention at the National Hospital.
At 5.10 pm Sunday, Governor Idris who was still in shock was sighted at the intensive care unit of the National Hospital, donating blood for his daughter, Aisha, whose condition was said to be critical.
Daily Sun learnt the ADC flight 53 took off from Margaret Ekpo Airport, Calabar at 7.30 Sunday morning and went to Lagos from where it took off to Abuja en route to Sokoto. The Sultan and other high profile passengers had joined the flight at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport, Abuja for the final leg of the journey to Sokoto.
Daily Sun learnt that the body of the Sultan was identified at the crash site and plans were immediately made to move him and the members of his family to Sokoto for immediate burial according to Islamic rights.
Senator Yari Ghandi was said to be taking his mother back to Sokoto after the woman had arrived from Saudi Arabia where she had gone to perform the lesser hajj -the umrah.
Although no official reasons have been given for the accident, aviation sources at the airport said it could be due to bad weather. According to eye witnesses, the plane was struck by a thunder storm and went down immediately and burst into flames. The black box and two service pistols which were recovered at the sight of the crash were handed over to the Inspector General of Police, Sunday Ehindero.
At the National Hospital where the survivors were taken to, the Chief Medical Director, Dr. Olusegun Ajuwon, confirmed that seven survivors had been brought to the hospital, one of them in critical
condition. Ajuwon who said his hospital had the capacity to take adequate care of the survivors told journalists that six of the survivors were in stable condition. The dead were taken to the mortuaries at the National Hospital, the Asokoro General Hospital, the Wuse and Maitama District Hospitals.
Sunday's crash came barely 42 days after a military aircraft on its way to Obudu, Cross River State had crashed in Benue State, killing 13 military topshots, including 10 Army generals. It is Nigeria's fourth fatal crash in barely 12 months since Bellview crash of October 22, 2005 in which 117 passengers and crew lost their lives. On December, 10 last year, a Sosoliso flight from Abuja to Port Harcourt crashed, killing 108 persons.