Oct 03, 2013 04:10 PM EDT
Nigeria Plane Crash Kills at Least 16 Shortly After Takeoff

Sixteen people were killed when a small passenger plane crashed shortly after taking off outside Lagos airport's domestic terminal.

The plane, operated by Nigeria's Associated Airlines, crashed in open ground near an aviation fuel depot in the commercial capital, according to Nigerian authorities.

It was reported that the plane was carrying the body of a former regional governor, and members of his family, to his funeral, according to Reuters.

Emergency workers could be seen taking a coffin out of the wreckage.

"The plane was making a lot of noise before it came down," Rasheed Olajide, an engineer at the airport, said to Reuters.

The aircraft tried to make a maneuver to avoid a residential area, according to Olajida.

The Embraer 120 plane was flying to Akure, a town about 140 miles east of Lagos, and came down around 9:30 a.m. (4:30 a.m. ET), Aviation Minister Stella Oduah said in a press statement.

The plane's flight recorder had been found and an investigation started into what caused the crash, she added.

Four people survived the crash, according to Reuters.

A diplomatic source said to Reuters the engine was made by Pratt & Whitney Canada, a unit of United Technologies Corp, PW100.

According to the airfleets.net website, the crashed plane was over 23 years old.

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