100 perish in ADC crash
By MODESTUS CHUKWULAKA, JACOB EDI, ISMAIL OMIPIDAN,
JOE NWANKWO, MOLLY KILETE and BASHIR UMAR, Abuja
Monday, October 30, 2006
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Corpses of the dead
Photo: Sun News Publishing |
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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.
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