Jetliner crash in Nigeria kills 153

LAGOS, Nigeria -- A passenger plane carrying more than 150 people crashed Sunday in Nigeria's largest city, killing all passengers and crew aboard, an emergency official said.

Charred corpses could be seen in the rubble of a building damaged in the crash, as firefighters searched for survivors, pulling a body from the wreckage. All aboard the Dana Air flight were killed, according to Nigeria's Civil Aviation Authority.

The Lagos state government said 153 people were on the flight from Abuja to Lagos.

A spokesman for the National Emergency Management Agency said there were likely to be more casualties on the ground.

He said an official manifest for the flight was being sought. Sometimes flights in Nigeria issue paper tickets and don't record all passengers via computer.

The plane did not appear to have nose-dived, but seemed to have landed on its belly. It crashed through a furniture shop and into residential buildings next to the workshop in a densely packed neighborhood.

The nose of the plane was embedded in a three-story apartment building, damaging only one part of the structure. Fire still smoldered everywhere as several thousand people looked on. A group of men stood atop the landing gear that was smoking.

Praise Richard, a witness, said he heard an explosion that sounded like a bomb. He rushed outside and saw heavy smoke and flames rising from the crash site around 3:45 p.m.

At the crash site, an Associated Press reporter saw parts of the plane's seat signs scattered around.

Firefighters tried to put out the smoldering flames of a jet engine and carried at least one corpse from the building that continued to crumble.

Two fire trucks and about 50 rescue personnel were at the site. Some of those gathered around the site helped firefighters bring in the water hoses from their trucks.

The Nigerian Red Cross arrived, as well as Nigeria's air crash safety investigators.

It was not immediately known what type of plane it was, but Dana Air's website says the company operates its flights between Lagos and Abuja using a Boeing MD83.

Lagos' international airport, a major hub for West Africa, saw 2.3 million passengers pass through it in 2009, according to the most recent statistics.