PLANE EXPLODED 20 MINUTES AFTER IT CRASHLANDED

Residents around the Iju area of Lagos where the Dana commercial air
plane crashed said the aircraft did not explode immediately it
crashed. It exploded after about 20 minutes after it crashed into the
buildings. If help had come early, some of the over 140 persons, who
died yesterday might have been saved, residents told news agents from
Vanguard. According to an eyewitness, the plane was seen swinging in
the air before it eventually landed on a newly constructed storey
building between 3pm and 4pm. ''I was here with my wife and other
people when we saw the plane moving around in random directions.
Initially we were confused, but when it was getting usually close to
the rooftop of the houses around, we stood up and traced were it
eventually landed. When we go to the scene, we saw the plane on the
building and it did not explode upon landing. The only fire from
the aircraft was from the cockpit which was not much. It was only ten
of us that first got
to the scene. That little fire would have been quenchable if there was
immediate emergency response from fire fighters. We were even using
sachets of pure water to put off the fire before we heard loud
explosion after 20 minutes.'' When the rescue team did not turn up, it
was learnt that a concerned bystander then called the chairperson of
the local government council who informed an official of the Lagos
State Government. ''When we discovered that emergency rescue service
was not on sight, my wife had to call the chairperson of the local
government, who informed Fashola's people. It was that call that
altered the authorities. But if the rescue service had arrived on
time, they would have been saved because there was no fire when the
plane landed on the buildings. The pilot of the aircraft was very
brave because we
noticed it from the way the aircraft was swinging before it crashed,''
another witness told the Vanguard.



Source: The Vanguard.