Military aircraft with 32 people on board crashes in southern Nigeria

A military aircraft crashed Monday in southern Nigeria with 25 passengers and 7 crew members on board, triggering a frantic search and rescue operation, authorities said. There was no immediate word on whether there were casualties.

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

The Nigerian Air Force identified the aircraft as an ATR-42, and said that an immediate search and rescue operation was launched. It was not immediately clear to what extent the aircraft was damaged.

Keyamo said the aircraft first disappeared from radar at around 9 a.m. local time, and that it was found to have crashed about midway into its trip from Edo state to Lagos.