Nigeria has declared three days of national mourning after a military plane crashed during a routine flight, killing all 25 people on board.
The Nigerian Air Force confirmed Tuesday that there were no survivors after its ATR-42 aircraft went down in the southwestern state of Ondo on Monday.
The plane was carrying 20 passengers and five crew members when it crashed near the coastal town of Igbokoda, close to a Nigerian naval base.
Officials initially reported that 32 people were aboard the aircraft, but the Air Force later revised the figure after reviewing the flight manifest.
The aircraft, identified as NAF 931, had been flying from Benin City to Lagos as part of what military officials described as a routine mission.
Air traffic controllers lost contact with the plane shortly after 9 a.m. local time. Attempts to reach the crew by radio were unsuccessful before authorities received confirmation that the aircraft had gone down.
The wreckage was later discovered in a difficult-to-reach swampy area near a river. Emergency crews, military personnel and local residents were involved in the search-and-rescue effort.
The Nigerian Air Force later announced that everyone aboard had died.
President Bola Tinubu called the crash a painful loss for the country and its armed forces, declaring three days of national mourning in honor of those killed.
“This is a painful moment for our Armed Forces and for the entire nation,” Tinubu said.
“Our Air Force personnel put their lives on the line every day to secure Nigeria. Their sacrifice will never be forgotten.”
Tinubu also ordered flags across Nigeria to be flown at half-staff and directed the Air Force to conduct a full investigation into what caused the crash.
The exact cause remained unknown Tuesday.
Witnesses near the crash site reported hearing a loud noise before the aircraft came down, while photographs and video from the area showed debris scattered around the muddy crash site.
The ATR-42 is a twin-engine turboprop aircraft that can be adapted for a variety of military operations, including transportation, surveillance and reconnaissance.
Nigeria’s armed forces rely heavily on aircraft as they confront multiple security threats, including extremist groups, armed criminal organizations and regional instability.
The crash is among Nigeria’s deadliest aviation disasters in recent years.
Military aviation accidents have struck the country before. In 2021, Nigeria’s army chief, Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, and 10 other military personnel were killed when their aircraft crashed near Kaduna International Airport.
Air Force officials said the families of those killed in Monday’s crash were being contacted and would receive support from the military.
Investigators will now examine the wreckage, flight information, maintenance records and communications with air traffic controllers as they try to determine what went wrong during the short flight.
For grieving families and military personnel across Nigeria, the investigation could provide crucial answers about how a routine mission ended in catastrophe.
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