Photos:153 passengers feared dead in Dana Air crash in Lagos

UPDATE 1: The Director-General of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, Harold Demuren has confirmed that none of the 153 passengers on board the aircreft survived.

UPDATE 2: Dana says it is working with NCAA and FAAN to release flight manifest. The huge crowd at the scene is preventing emergency rescue team from performing their duties.

UPDATE 3: We have just been told that the Group General Manager, Public Affairs, of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Levi Ajuonuma, was on the plane.

UPDATE 4: Aviation minister, Stella Oodua said she was saddened by the news and was already on her way to the crash site.

"I am extremely saddened by the news of the crash and I assure the nation that investigations are underway," she told NAN.

Reports say the crew of the aircraft declared May Day, an emergency announcement in the aviation industry, some 11 nautical miles to Lagos as the plane caught fire.

The reports said the aircraft left Abuja en-route Lagos some 50 minutes earlier. ..

Dana Airline has crashed in the Iju area of Lagos, less than five minutes away from the Lagos Airport.

The plane, which reportedly took off from Abuja, crashed at a location around Toyin Bus stop in the metropolis.

The plane is said to carry 162 passengers and crew but we are unable to independently verify that information at this point.

A resident of the area said the aircraft exploded as soon as it crashed, affecting three houses in the area.

Officials of the Lagos Fire Service and other rescue workers have arrived the scene and are evacuating victims. 

The National Emergency Management Agency has confirmed the incident, saying it has mobilised rescue workers to the scene.