A passenger plane crashed into a densely populated part of Lagos, Nigeria's commercial hub, on Sunday, killing all 153 people on board and others on the ground, Reuters and AP reported.

The McDonnell Douglas MD-83, operated by privately owned domestic carrier Dana Air, was coming into land on a flight from the capital Abuja to Lagos when it hit a building, and burst into flames.

The dead included at least six Chinese, the Chinese Embassy in Nigeria said.

The flight's pilots radioed to the Lagos control tower just before the crash, saying the plane had engine trouble, a military official said.

Rescue officials feared many others were killed or injured on the ground, but no casualty figures were immediately available.

President Goodluck Jonathan declared three days of national mourning and ordered an investigation into the cause of the crash.

Nigeria has a history of major aviation disasters, though in recent years there hasn't been a crash.

Sunday's crash appeared to be the worst since September 1992, when a military transport plane crashed into a swamp shortly after takeoff from Lagos. All 163 army soldiers, relatives and crew members on board were killed.

(China.org.cn, CNTV June 5, 2012)

據路透社和美聯社報道，周日，一架客機墜入尼日利亞商業中心拉各斯的人口稠密區，機上153人全部遇難，地面上的一些人也喪命。

私營國內航空公司——達納航空運營的一架麥克唐納·道格拉斯MD-83型客機從首都拉布亞飛往拉各斯的途中墜落，飛機墜落后撞到一棟建筑，然后引發了大火。

中國駐尼日利亞大使館表示，遇難者中至少有6名中國人。

一名軍方官員表示，飛機墜毀前，駕駛員用無線電和拉各斯的指揮塔聯系，說飛機的引擎出了故障。

救援人員擔心，地面還有很多人遇難或者受傷，但傷亡數字尚不清楚。

總統古德勒克·喬納森宣布全國哀悼三天，并下令對墜機原因進行調查。

尼日利亞曾發生過多起嚴重空難，但近些年沒發生過墜機事件。

周日的墜機事件好像是1992年9月以來最為嚴重的事件。1992年9月份，一架軍用運輸機從拉各斯起飛不久便墜入一片沼澤。機上163名士兵、家屬和機組人員全部遇難。