Muslim leader among Nigeria plane crash victims
Muslim spiritual leader among 100 passengers killed after Nigerian airline crashes and bursts into flames in Abuja
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Sunday, 29, Oct 2006 08:01
The spiritual leader of Muslims in Nigeria has been killed in a plane crash that claimed the lives of about 100 people.
Sultan of Sokoto Muhammadu Maccido was aboard the ADC airline flight from the capital Abuja to Sokoto when the plane came down shortly after takeoff.
There were thought to have been 104 passengers and crew on the Boeing 727 when it crashed and burst into flames, with initial witness reports suggesting that there are between four and six survivors.
Officials say that the plane came down during an electric storm.
A spokeswoman for the country's president said: "President Olusegun Obasanjo is deeply and profoundly shocked and saddened by the news of the reported air crash of an airliner in the environ of the federal capital territory today."
Muhammadu Maccido was the 18th sultan of the Sokoto caliphate and had represented Nigeria's 70 million-strong population of Muslims.
Ten years ago ADC was involved in another aviation accident in the outskirts of Lagos when a Boeing 727 crashed, killing all 143 onboard.