Wednesday 6 June 2012

DANA CRASH: TWO SISTERS TOO!

WIPED OUT…TWO SISTERS

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Josephine and Jennifer Onita
Josephine and Jennifer Onita were returning from the wedding of a close friend in Nigeria. Maimuna Anyene was on her way to her brother's matrimonials. Weddings are a big reason people cross oceans and continents, making journeys brimming with mirth and laughter back to the lands where they and their families came from.
This weekend, that joy plunged to absolute sorrow for at least two families in the United States.
Anyene was killed along with her husband and four children when Dana Air Flight 992 crashed Sunday in Lagos, Nigeria's largest city.
Also on board were the Onita sisters from Missouri City, Texas: well-educated, smart and full of promise.

DANA CRASH WIPES OUT 10 FROM ONE FAMILY

Wiped Out' 10 Members of One Family!

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Meimuna Anyene
The grim realities of the Dana tragedy are beginning to come home as the picture becomes clearer. The popular photograph of Meimuna Anyene and her twins that has been making the rounds since the mishap does not tell a full story.
In fact, Meimuna died along with nine other members of her family: her husband, Onyeka; her four children, Kamsiyonna (two years old), twins Kayimarachi and Kayinetochi (one year old), and Noah (seven months old); her sister; her two cousins; and her mother-in-law. Meimuna, who lived in Connecticut, United States, was visiting Nigeria with her children for the first time. They were heading for Lagos for her younger brother’s wedding scheduled for this weekend. But then…

DANA CRASH: PROBE TEAM HEADS FOR US

FG Grounds Dana Air as Probe Team Heads for US

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Minister of Aviation, Princess Stella Oduah
By Onwuka Nzeshi, Onyebuchi Ezigbo and Dele Ogbodo
The Federal Government has suspended the operating licence of Dana Airlines “as a precaution” following last Sunday’s crash which claimed over 160 lives, including tenants of a residential building.
Meanwhile, the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) will this week send a team of its investigators to the United States with the recovered Flight Data Recorder (FDR), also known as the “Black Box”, for further analysis.
The Black Box, an electronic device, is used to record any instructions sent to any electronic systems on an aircraft.

DANA CRASH: TOLL LIKELY TO BE 159

Dana Plane Crash Toll Likely to be 159, Says LASEMA


http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/dana-plane-crash-toll-likely-to-be-159-says-lasema/117432/

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Dana plane crash site


The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) has said that a survey conducted around the site of the Dana airplane crash has shown that six people are likely to have been killed apart from the passengers on board the plane.
The plane crash had killed 153 passengers on Sunday, out of which 149 bodies have been recovered..
Reuters reported that the agency said distinguishing the passengers from any other victims has proved difficult, adding that some are bodies burnt beyond recognition, and a number of dismembered body parts have also been found.
Only two bodies -- those of a woman clutching her child -- have been established to have been casualties on the ground.
The General Manager of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, Oke Osanyintolu said Wednesday that a survey of the building and the surrounding houses showed that all except six of the occupants were accounted for.
"Six people were missing among the occupants of the building ... five were injured and taken to hospital," he said, adding that this meant the death total might not exceed 159, though the final figure was not yet confirmed.
Dana Airline which licence has been suspended maintained that there was nothing wrong with the plane before it crashed.

Tuesday 5 June 2012

FG BANS DANA, MEDICINE AFTER DEATH

FG Suspends Dana Air's License

05 Jun 2012
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Scene from the crash site
The Federal Government has suspended the operational license of Dana Airlines following the crash that killed all153 persons on board a Lagos-bound flight on Sunday.
The suspension is for an indefinite period.
On Monday when President Goodluck Jonathan visited the crash site at the Iju-Ishaga, Alagbado area of Lagos, he promised a thorough investigation into the tragic incident

DANA CRASH: 115 CORPSES RECOVERED

115 Bodies Recovered from Dana Crash Site

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Crash site of the Dana Air plane
By Gboyega Akinsanmi and Steve Dada
The Lagos State Emergency Management Authority (LASEMA) Monday said some 115 bodies had been recovered from the rubble of the Dana Airline crash.
The General Manager, Dr. Femi Oke-Osanyintolu, gave the casualty figure, revealing that five injured persons were also removed from the two-storey building.
He said four of them “have been treated and discharged while one is still in the hospital. The dead bodies had been taken to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH). DNA test would be conducted on the dead bodies to ascertain their identities”.
The LASEMA boss added that Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola had directed that persons who were displaced from the buildings around the site as a result of the crash be rehabilitated at the Lagos State Relief Camp, Agbowa.

DANA CRASH: US OFFERS ASSISTANCE

Dana Crash: US Offers to Assist in Investigation

05 Jun 2012
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US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, made the offer
By Tokunbo Adedoja
United States has said it was prepared to assist Nigeria in its investigation of Sunday's plane crash involving Dana Air Flight 0992 which claimed over 153 lives.
The offer of assistance was contained in a statement issued by Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, to condole with families of victims of the tragic incident.
"We stand with the people of Nigeria at this difficult time and we are prepared to assist the Nigerian Government in its investigation of this tragic accident", Clinton said.
US government also said it could confirm that there were some of its citizens on board the ill-fated flight.

DANA CRASH: THE COLES, TOGETHER IN LIFE AND DEATH

The Coles: Together in Life, Together in Death

http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/the-coles-together-in-life-together-in-death/117322/
05 Jun 2012
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Reverend Ayodeji and Ngozi Cole
By Damilola Oyedele
The late Reverend Ayodeji Kolade Cole and his wife, Reverend Ngozi Oreoluwa Cole were, before they died in the ill-fated Dana Air crash last Sunday, senior pastors of The Redeemed Evangelical Mission (TREM) and presided over a branch of the church called, Vision House, located in Utako, Abuja.
The duo was superlative in their pastoral assignment on the same day that death came knocking. At the church service, the presiding pastor, the Rev. Ayodele Cole, prayed thus:
“Let this be an anchor, that as we dedicate these children, you will dedicate yours”.
He did the prayer as he dedicated a set of triplets born to a couple who had been without a child of theirs for 15 years. Reverend Cole danced as he had never done before; the excitement was visible, as he jumped around in his grey-colour pastoral cassock. This, unfortunately, was his last assignment on earth!
The man called Papa on the pulpit was different from the man off the pulpit. He was a reserved gentleman with a stoic mien, but talk to him and you would discover a loving and caring personality beneath the tough looking exterior.
His passion for church members is unequalled with an open door policy; you could visit his home at any time or call him at anytime.
He loved his wife, who he renamed Oreoluwa, to a fault and had no apologies about it. He always described her as a complement to him. It is impossible not to love mama; she greets you like she has always known you, and is never too busy to spare a minute.

DOOMED AIRCRAFT FIRST FLEW 22 YEARS AGO

Doomed Aircraft First Flew 22 Years Ago!

http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/doomed-aircraft-first-flew-22-years-ago-/117324/
05 Jun 2012
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Rescue workers at the crash site
By Chinedu Eze and Martha Momoh
Dana Air operates the oldest fleet in Nigeria, THISDAY can report today, as serious safety issues continue to arise on the cause of the tragic flight that consumed over 160 lives last Sunday.
The ill-fated craft, McDonnell Douglas 83 (MD83), which was bought from Alaska Airlines, US, operated its first flight 22 years ago, according to Dana Airline at a press briefing Monday. Dana bought the aircraft in 2009.
Although there is an endless argument about age of the aircraft, proper maintenance and its prone to accidents, but indications show that this particular aircraft involved in Sunday’s accident has been “overflogged” by the airline.
As at three weeks ago, two of Dana Air’s aircraft were still off on C Check (maintenance) and there were being expected to be ferried back to join operations.
The airline with six aircraft (minus two) had to use existing four aircraft to operate its many routes.
It rescheduled its Abuja-Lagos flight and dropped its second morning flight; it stopped its Lagos-Enugu flight and also cut back on other destinations.

Distraught families of DANA CRASH

Distraught Families Mournfully Tell Their Stories...

05 Jun 2012
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Dana plane crash scene
By Chiemelie Ezeobi
Ehile concerted efforts were being made to recover the bodies of the passengers of the ill-fated Dana aircraft, the families of the deceased 153 passengers on board and about 10 residents of affected buildings, recounted their tales of woe.
Speaking to THISDAY, one of the survivors of the destroyed building, Mr. Emmanuel Soyemi, said he escaped unhurt with his family by sheer luck. According to him, his son David was about to go and buy recharge card when he called him back. That singular act saved the boy and father as the plane crashed into their building, slicing off the upper building which was yet uncompleted.
He said: “After I had returned from church, I was about to go out when I asked David to go and buy recharge card so that I can confirm if the person I wanted to see was at home. When he was about to leave, power was restored and I called him back. The next thing I heard was a loud bang and the trunk of the plane fell right inside my building”. `
For his 13-year-old son, David, the crash shocked him to his nerves. He said: “For the first time in my life, I thanked PHCN because they saved my life. If they had not restored power, when they did, the plane would have landed on me.”

Monday 4 June 2012

DANA CRASH

Another Weekend, Another Crash

04 Jun 2012
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Bellview crash in Ogun State
The last five major air crashes in Nigeria happened at the weekend. Is there any reason behind this?
May 4, 2002 (Saturday): EAS crashes in Kano; 74 dead
October 22, 2005 (Saturday): Bellview crashes in Ogun State; 117 dead
Dec. 10, 2005 (Saturday): Sosoliso crashes in Port Harcourt; 103 dead
October 29, 2006 (Sunday): ADC crashes in Abuja; 97 dead
June 3, 2012 (Sunday): Dana crashes in Lagos; 153 dead

DANA CRASH: WE THOUGHT IT WAS BOKO HARAM

We Heard the Explosion and Thought Boko Haram Has Finally Hit Lagos

 
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Dana plane crash scene
By Chiemelie Ezeobi
It was a black and bloody Sunday at the Iju area of Lagos State yesterday as a 152-passenger Dana Aircraft lost control and nosedived to the ground, exploding on residential buildings on Akande Street, off Poopola Street in the Iju-Ishaga area of Lagos State.
When THISDAY visited the crash site, confusion reigned as thousands trooped to the scene of the accident despite efforts by the police to curtail movement. However, no one was rescued alive from the fire rather charred bodies of the dead were brought out.
Apart from the passengers that died in the clash, about 15 persons who were inside the affected buildings were allegedly burnt to death as well. As at press time, concerted efforts were still being made by fire fighters and volunteers to extinguish the inferno.
The crash affected four buildings: a church and a two-storey residential building and two others around it.