Nigerian military plane crash kills all 25 on board

There were no survivors after a military aircraft crashed in southern Nigeria, authorities said on Monday.

The Nigerian ​Air Force (NAF) announced on Tuesday ​that the death toll was 25, lower than the 32 initially announced ​by ‌Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo on Monday.

"NAF 931 had 25 persons on board, comprising five ‌crew members and 20 passengers," NAF said ‌in ​a statement.

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu extended his "deepest condolences" to the deceased's loved ones. 

The aircraft was on a routine mission to Lagos, Nigeria's economic hub, when it crashed in the Igbokoda area of Ondo state, Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo said in a statement.

Wreckage located

Keyamo said the aircraft disappeared from radar at around 9 a.m. local time (7:00 a.m. GMT) and was later found to have crashed about halfway through its journey from Edo state to Lagos.

He said the wreckage had been located near a naval base.

The Nigerian Air Force identified the aircraft as an ATR-42 and said an immediate search and rescue operation had been launched.

A video circulating on social media showed a small crowd gathered near a river as rescuers searched the area by boat.

Locals told AP news agency about what they had heard and seen.

"The plane cleared some trees. We found some body parts, some clothes and shoes," one of the locals said.

UPDATE: The initial version of this story on Monday, October 5 had the death toll at 32, as reported by Nigerian officials. This has been amended following the updates on Tuesday.

Edited by: Wesley Dockery, Rob Turner

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