Nigerian Muslim leader among 99 dead in plane crash

ABUJA - The leader of Nigeria's Muslims was one of about 99 people killed on Sunday when a domestic airliner crashed in bad weather shortly after takeoff from the Nigerian capital of Abuja.

An ADC Airlines official said 105 people were on board the Boeing 737 flight to the northern city of Sokoto when it ploughed into a corn field about 2 km from the runway. No more than five people survived the crash.

A Reuters correspondent saw burned bodies, some missing limbs or heads, being loaded onto trucks amid the smouldering remains of the fuselage.

"The plane crash ... led to the death of our beloved Sultan ... among about 100 people," the governor of Sokoto state, Attahiru Bafarawa, said.

Bafarawa declared six days of mourning for Ibrahim Muhammadu Maccido, who led an estimated 70 million Muslims in Africa's most populous country.

Maccido, who as Sultan of Sokoto was also the top traditional ruler of northern Nigeria, helped to curb religious bloodshed in the central state of Plateau in 2004.

Only the plane's tail, an engine and part of a wing were still recognisable at the crash site, an area the size of a football field littered with body parts, smouldering fires, clothes, boxes and bags.

"The smell is something you don't want to remember," said Steve Noble, a British diplomat at the scene.

Five possible survivors were rushed to a hospital in Abuja. Two were in critical condition, an ambulance driver said.

The governor of Abuja, Nasir el-Rufai, said there was bad weather at the time of the crash, but added that only a detailed investigation could determine the cause. The operator, ADC, is a popular domestic airline with an ageing fleet of Boeing jets.

The office of President Olusegun Obasanjo issued a statement calling for a full investigation.

It was the fourth significant air crash in Nigeria in just over a year.

In October last year, 119 people died when a Bellview Airlines Boeing 737 crashed shortly after takeoff from Lagos.

Last December a Sosoliso Airlines DC9 crashed on landing in Port Harcourt, killing 106 people.

And in September, 12 Nigerian military personnel, mostly high-ranking officers, were killed in a plane crash in Benue state.

The latest tragedy comes a month before the aviation industry is due to undergo an audit. After last year's crashes, Obasanjo ordered airlines and aviation authorities to improve safety standards.

Abuja airport remained open, with flights arriving and leaving as usual.

- REUTERS