Survivors of Nigeria plane crash soothe loved ones

Still battling to recover fully from the shock and injuries sustained after a close shave with death, survivors of a plane crash which claimed the lives of at least 13 people in Nigeria's Lagos State on Thursday began to allay the fear of the unknown which has obviously enveloped the minds of their loved ones. According to official reports, seven people survived when the chartered 20-seat Embraer jet operated by Associated Airline crash landed a few minutes after it took off at the local wing of Nigeria's Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos. The plane was en route to Akure, capital of southwestern state of Ondo, carrying the body of a late former governor and ex- minister of aviation, which was due for burial rites on Thursday and Friday. A son of the former governor, Feyi Agagu, some relatives, government officials and pall-bearers were also aboard the plane when it developed mechanical faults mid-air. The air mishap occurred exactly 16 months after a commercial plane operated by Dana Airline crashed on June 3, 2012 in Lagos, killing all 153 passengers and crew members on board. One survivor of the plane crash, Femi Akinsanya, walked out of the ill-fated aircraft immediately after it crash landed. He was spotted wearing a white pair of trousers with blood gushing out of his head when rescuers held him and quickly sent him to a nearby hospital. "My survival is a miracle. I want to see my family. I am okay... I am okay," he said while receiving treatment on Thursday, at a health facility in Ikeja, capital of Lagos State. A few hours after the incident, Akinsanya reunited with a few friends and family members who paid him a visit at the hospital. No serious injury, only a neck support was seen around his neck. Agagu, another survivor of the crash, also wore a neck support and some bandages when his friends visited him at the Surgical Emergency ward of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) in Ikeja. Sighting his friends whose faces depicted anxiety, he giggled and waved heartily to his visitors, who looked on as he was being wheeled to the Intensive Care Unit for a body scan. He spoke normally. "None of you should worry about my state. I am alive. I'll be fine," he said, beaming with smiles that relieved his friends. "I became unconscious after feeling the impact of the aeroplane hitting the ground but woke up later," he told his friends in testimony. Among the seven survivors, five are yet to be discharged from LASUTH. One, with a very serious injury, was transferred to a hospital in Ebute-Meta area of Lagos, while another is receiving treatment at Nigeria Airforce Hospital in Ikeja. Meanwhile, a somber mood filled the air at the crash site for many hours after the incident. Officials could not immediately confirm figure of the casualties because rescue efforts by various agencies controlled by government almost took the whole day. As of Friday morning, debris at the crashed site was still being cleared. The Flight Data Recorder (FDR), also known as "Black Box", has been recovered and handed over to the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) in Nigeria. The AIB has announced a full investigation into the crash, using the ill-fated plane's Black Box. Ramon Olanrewaju, a senior communications manager working at the headquarters of United Bank for Africa (UBA) said he was at a private hangar, waiting for a flight to Ghana, when he saw the plane dropping from the sky. The ill-fated aircraft was manufactured in Brazil in 1990. Although its first flight date is unknown, the plane had been flown by three United States-based airlines namely Britt Airlines, Continental Express and JRM Air LLC, according to Airfleets.net. Britt Airlines bought the plane on March 23, 1990 and marked it in U.S. registration number N51726. Continental Express later bought it on Sept. 1, 1990, retaining the registration number used by its previous operator. Before coming to Nigeria, the plane was bought by JRM Air LCC which marked it N388JR. In Nigeria, the Associated Airline flew the same plane for six years before Thursday's accident. The airline's chief operating officer Taiwo Raji said at a news conference that the crashed plane was last serviced on June 24 2013 in Lagos. "The last time the affected plane flew was on August 30, 2013, while the age of the aircraft was 23 years. We have 10 aircraft in our fleet and six serviceable aircraft. The plane was insured by Sema insurance company and Nigerian Re-insurance," Raji disclosed.