157 bodies Recovered From Lagos Crash Site

Anguish,  anger and wailing yesterday trailed the recovery of 157 bodies at the site of Dana plane which crashed at about 3.45pm in Iju-Ishaga, a Lagos suburb, on Sunday. President Goodluck Jonathan had last Monday visited the site of the ill-fated Dana Air MD 83 Flight.

The president was accompanied by Governor Babatunde Fashola and the Acting Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, as well as some members of the National Assembly.

He commiserated with the bereaved families saying “I express personal condolences and that of the country as a whole to the families of those who have directly lost their dear ones.

“It is a sad development to the whole country and that is why the Federal Government has come to physically assess the situation on ground here in Lagos,’’ Jonathan said.

He noted that all the laws governing the aviation sector were being adhered to in the country and expressed government’s commitment to the improvement of infrastructure in the sector. “As a nation, we have been working very hard to improve the aviation infrastructure in the country. ‘Most of you who have travelled a lot would have seen improvement in infrastructure going on in our airports, but this one is a major setback.”

There were 153 passengers and crew when the plane which took off from Abuja developed a fault mid-air as it was about to land in Lagos. The plane crashed into four buildings, killing about 30 people on the ground. The bodies were yesterday brought to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, (LASUTH), Ikeja in a fleet of ambulances even as the bereaved  families had stormed the hospital as early as 7 am to identify their loved ones.

As the bodies arrived at LASUTH, some of them who were burnt beyond recognition, were  transferred to Mainland General Hospital mortuary which LASUTH authorities said was to facilitate easy identification by the families.

When Daily Sun visited the scene on Olaniyi Street, Iju-Ishaga yesterday, security agencies had cordoned off the area, thereby making it extremely difficult for on-lookers and sympathizers to gain access to the venue unlike the rowdy situation on Sunday.

As early as 9.am, scores of bereaved families had besieged the scene to identify the bodies, but were prevented by officials of the rescue agencies, urging them to be patient until the operation is concluded.

In an interview with Daily Sun, a visibly shaken Rear Admiral Joe Aikhomu from the Naval Headquarters caught a pitiable sight as he looked dejected and worried.