Jet Crashes With 76 Aboard

A Nigerian airliner with 76 people aboard crashed, tearing a three-block swath through mosques and homes in the northern city of Kano on Saturday.

At least two people on board survived, aviation authorities said--one, a passenger who rose from his seat amid the wreckage and staggered away.

The other known survivor was a female crew member, said John Okafor, spokesman for Nigeria’s federal airport authority.

There was no firm report on overall casualties. But dozens were feared dead on the ground.

The plane had taken off from Kano for Nigeria’s commercial capital, Lagos, about 500 miles to the southwest, Okafor said.

The aircraft crashed at about 1:30 p.m. approximately half a mile from the airport.

Aviation authorities said they were searching for the plane’s black box, hoping for clues to the crash. Residents said the plane tore along at roof level for several blocks, shearing off tin roofs and top stories of modest concrete homes, before hitting the ground and exploding.

The plane clipped the minaret of one mosque and smashed full force into a second mosque.

The passengers on board included Nigeria’s sports minister as well as a number of local dignitaries, radio stations reported.

The plane belonged to Nigeria’s private EAS Airlines, one of more than a dozen independent carriers operating within the West African country. Kano State Gov. Rabiu Isa Kwankwaso visited the crash site late Saturday, adding to confusion at the scene, as distraught residents jostled to talk to him and were pushed back by security.