Photo caption: Scene of the incident
Sixty-eight passengers narrowly escaped death when an Enugu Air aircraft overshot the runway at the Benin Airport on Thursday.
The aircraft, with Registration Number 5N-ENR, reportedly had 68 passengers on board, apart from the crew members.
A confidential source at the Benin Airport said the aircraft was on an Enugu-Benin-Lagos commercial flight when the incident occurred.
The source disclosed that the aircraft overshot the runway and entered the nearby bush.
“The Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAN), immediately swung into action and all the passengers were evacuated. No casualty was recorded,” the source added.
It did not, however, state the number of crew members on board the aircraft at the time of the incident.
Further details of the incident emerged later, indicating that some of the passengers sustained injuries.
The flight was said to have originated from Lagos to Benin and had reportedly been cleared to land but overshot the runway, apparently due to heavy rainfall.
Some family members who had gone to the airport to receive their loved ones were seen shouting praises to God and rushing some passengers to the hospital.
The staff of Enugu Air at the airport declined to speak on the incident.
A staff member of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), who also declined to comment, said, “I cannot tell you anything because investigation would be carried out by necessary authorities and the reports would be sent to our head office.”
