Officials fear death toll may rise in deadly Lagos air crash

Lagos, June 4 (ANI): Nigerian authorities fear that the death toll from Sunday's commercial airplane could rise further.

The crash, which claimed 153 lives at the last count, is being described as the worst air disaster in nearly two decades for the troubled nation.

Officials with the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority and the Nigeria Emergency Management Agency claimed about not knowing how many people on the ground were injured or killed, when the Dana Air flight crashed in a densely populated neighborhood near Lagos' international airport on Sunday

"The fear is that since it happened in a residential area, there may have been many people killed," Fox News quoted Yushau Shuaib, a spokesman for Nigeria's National Emergency Management Agency, as saying.

Rescuers worked through Sunday night at the site, trying to put out fires from the crash. Officials said searchers were still looking for the aircraft's black box recorder.

The cause of the crash remained unknown till Sunday night, as firefighters and police struggled to put out the flames around the wreckage of the Boeing MD83 aircraft, as thousands gathered around to see the crash site, with some crawling over the plane's broken wings and standing on a still-smoldering landing gear.

Shuaib said there were likely more casualties on the ground, but the number was unknown. He revealed they were also still trying to get an official manifest on the flight. Sometimes flights in Nigeria issue paper tickets and don't record all passengers via computer.

President Goodluck Jonathan later declared three days of national mourning in Africa's most populous nation.

A statement released by office read, "Jonathan prays that God Almighty will grant the families of the victims of the plane crash the courage and fortitude to bear their irreparable loss." (ANI)