6 Chinese on plane that crashed in Nigeria – govt

People gather at the site of a plane crash in Lagos, Nigeria, Sunday, June 3, 2012. A passenger plane carrying more than 150 people crashed in Nigeria's largest city on Sunday, government officials said. Firefighters pulled at least one body from a building that was damaged by the crash and searched for survivors as several charred corpses could be seen in the rubble. AP PHOTO/SUNDAY ALAMBA

Beijing – China said on Monday that six of its nationals were aboard a plane that crashed into a residential area of Nigeria’s largest city with all 153 people on board presumed dead.

The Chinese embassy in Nigeria said it had been told by local authorities that six of its citizens were aboard the Dana Air Boeing MD83 plane that plunged into a densely populated area of Lagos on Sunday.

“The embassy has managed to contact the family of the six Chinese citizens after using various channels,” the embassy said on its website, but did not give any further details.

The cause of the crash is unclear and a search-and-rescue mission is still underway, but officials have said all those aboard the plane are presumed dead as no survivors have been found.

A number of people on the ground are also believed to have been killed in the crash, which created an inferno at the scene and badly damaged buildings.

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has declared three days of national mourning for victims of the crash and pledged an investigation into the accident in Lagos, the country’s economic capital.