A Boeing 737 passenger plane owned by local Nigerian airline Chanchangi overshot the runway after landing in heavy rain in Port Harcourt, capital of Rivers state in Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta region Monday, police said.
Rivers police spokesperson Rita Abbey said the plane took off from the commercial city of Lagos with a yet-to-be determined number of passengers.
The airport in Port Harcourt was the scene of one of the worst air crashes in the country’s history when, in December 2005, a DC9 plane operated by the local Sosoliso airline crashed while landing in a thunderstorm, killing more than 100 people, most of them children returning home for the Christmas holidays.
Investigators later blamed the crash on bad weather, lack of runway lighting and a poor decision by the crew.
The airport, which was subsequently shut down for repairs, was only recently re-opened. Panapress .
