An aircraft carrying at least 75 people has crashed into buildings in Kano
in northern Nigeria, shortly after taking off from the city's airport.
Eyewitnesses said they saw a fire on board the plane just minutes after it
took off for the southern city of Lagos.

The plane came down in a densely populated area, hitting one building and
ploughed through two others before coming to a halt and bursting into
flames.

Firefighters and rescuers are at the crash site, and many casualties are
reported.

Witnesses said one survivor had been pulled from the wreckage of the BAC
111-500 aircraft.

Airport officials said the plane belonged to a private Nigerian airline,
EAS.

The plane had arrived safely in Kano from the central city of Jos, and had
just set off for Lagos when it plunged to the ground.

Older aircraft

There has not been a major air disaster in Nigeria since 1996 when 142
people died as a Boeing 727 plunged into a lagoon outside the commercial
capital Lagos.

Nigeria deregulated its airline industry in the mid-1980s and about a dozen
private companies, including EAS, sprang up to compete with state carrier
Nigeria Airways.

Correspondents say there are concerns about the use of older aircraft by the
private domestic carriers.

In April, the Nigerian Government announced a ban on the use of aircraft
more than 22 years old, a move that triggered strong protests from private
local airline operators.

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