Everyone on board the plane was killed instantly, while many may have also died on the ground.

However, casualties on the ground may be less than initially feared, as the plane came down on a Sunday when most of the buildings would have been empty. Beyond the 153 killed on the aircraft, there has been no full confirmation of the full death toll yet.

The airliner was owned by Lagos-based Indian company Dana Air, and it was flying to Lagos from the capital Abuja. It is believed that most on board were Nigerian.

Yesterday’s crash follows other problems on a Dana Air craft, possibly the same one that crashed. On May 11th, an MD-83 was forced to make an emergency landing in the country after developing a technical fault.

Despite President Goodluck Jonathan’s promises to launch the “fullest possible” investigation into what happened, the crash is indicative of an aviation problem across Africa. Since 1992, there have been seven major crashes in Nigeria alone, and this is the fourth crash in the last decade where over 100 people have died.

Rescue teams have been working at the scene through the night.