Nigeria declares 3-day mourning for 32 military personnel killed in plane crash

ABUJA, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Nigeria has declared a three-day national mourning beginning Tuesday for the 32 Air Force personnel who were killed when a military aircraft crashed in the country's southwestern Ondo State on Monday.

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, while declaring the mourning period late Monday, also directed that the national flag be flown at half-mast across the country to pay respect for the victims, including 25 passengers and seven crew members.

"This is a painful moment for our Armed Forces and for the entire nation," he said in a statement, ordering a comprehensive investigation into the incident.

The Nigerian Air Force confirmed earlier that the ATR-42 twin-engine turboprop aircraft, with the tail number NGR 931, was on a routine mission from Benin City in southern Nigeria to Lagos.

The aircraft plunged near the Naval Base in Igbokoda, a riverine community in Ondo State, according to Festus Keyamo, minister of aviation and aerospace development.

The minister said the aircraft lost contact with air traffic controllers before the crash, and all attempts to re-establish radio contact were unsuccessful.

Lucky Aiyedatiwa, governor of Ondo State, said residents and emergency response teams searched the crash site but found no survivors.

"They could not see any living soul that was in that aircraft," Aiyedatiwa told local broadcaster Channels TV, adding that some aircraft wreckage, identity cards and uniforms were found at the site, which helped the authorities to identify it as a military aircraft.

The Nigerian Air Force released the names of the personnel involved in the crash and opened a condolence register at its headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday morning.

Across the country, Nigerians mourned the victims of the crash, one of the deadliest involving a military aircraft in the history of the West African nation.

On Sept. 26, 1992, more than 150 military personnel were killed when a Nigerian Air Force aircraft crashed into a canal in a Lagos neighborhood shortly after takeoff. The victims were primarily middle-ranking officers attending a course in northwestern Kaduna State.

"This is a national disaster," Sharon Shiejir, daughter of one of the military officers who died in the 1992 crash, told Xinhua after Monday's incident.

"It not only brings back a sad memory but also deepens the pain of losing a loved one serving on a national assignment," she added.