LAGOS - A passenger plane crashed into a densely populated part of Lagos, Nigeria's commercial hub, on Sunday, killing all 147 people on board, the airline said.
President Goodluck Jonathan declared three days of national mourning and ordered an investigation into the cause of the crash which jolted residents of Lagos' Agege suburb where most live in tin-roofed buildings along unpaved streets.
The McDonnell Douglas MD-83, operated by privately owned domestic carrier Dana Air, was coming into land on a flight from the capital Abuja when it hit the building, not far from Lagos's Murtala Muhammed Airport, at 2:44 pm (1344 GMT) and burst into flames, according to the airline.
Among the dead was the spokesman for the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, Levi Ajuonuma, according to a passenger list released by the airline. Ajuonuma was also de facto spokesman for the oil minister in OPEC member Nigeria, Africa's biggest crude producer.
Dana Air said it was still investigating what caused the crash.
