Mass burial after Nigerian crash

Many bodies were unclaimed and unrecognisable.

The bodies of more than 50 of the victims of Saturday's air crash in the northern Nigerian city of Kano have been buried in two mass graves near the airport.

Six trucks took the corpses, shrouded in white cloth, to communal graves at a cemetery after hundreds of Muslims gathered to pray for the victims at the palace of the Emir of Kano, the city's powerful traditional ruler.

In some cases we only found hands or legs

Mohammed Tahir Agamou, Kano official

At least 148 people were killed when a BAC1-11-500 plane operated by the EAS Airlines crashed on its way to Lagos.

"Most of them were just burned or mutilated beyond recognition," state commissioner for religious affairs Mohammed Tahir Agamou told Reuters news agency.

He said the government had delayed the burial for as long as possible, but could wait no longer because the bodies were decomposing.

"In some cases we only found hands or legs.

"We've wrapped the different parts together but we are not sure they all belonged to the same person.

"It's a great tragedy."

Sorrow and anger

More than two days after the plane ploughed through at least 10 buildings in the poor Gwammaja suburb before bursting into flames, grieving relatives and simple bystanders were still struggling to cope with the scale of the tragedy.

"My sister was on the plane," said Idowu Iterogoba, who like other women had to watch the mass burial from a distance because of a Muslim rule.

Kano residents accuse the airline industry of putting profits before the safety of its passengers

"I have been to all the mortuaries, all the hospitals but I can't find her. So she must be there."

Many mourners covered their mouths and noses with handkerchiefs as the stench of decomposing bodies filled the air.

For many Gwammaja residents, sorrow quickly turned to anger.

Relatives of the victims accused President Olusegun Obasanjo of insensitivity after he paid a fleeting visit to the rundown district and did not stop to speak to the mourning families.

"They said he had other appointments," said Habibu Yussuf Hibbu, standing in front of his ruined house.

"Maybe his appointments were better than us".

We use planes that have been grounded by airlines in Britain

Mourner

According to a statement released after his return to Abuja, President Obasanjo, a born-again Christian, saw things differently.

"I believe the accident happened because God allowed it.

"We have to thank God that a school had just closed before the accident.

"God still left room for us to thank him."

All but four of the 79 people on board were killed, along with dozens of residents on the ground.

Safety standards

The plane, had made a stop in Kano on its way from Jos to Lagos.

It came down minutes after takeoff, smashing a mosque and a Koranic school as it plunged to earth.

Although the cause of the crash remains unclear, Nigeria's deadliest air disaster in more than five years raised fresh concerns about the local airline industry's safety standards.

Many private companies have sprung up to challenge the state carrier Nigeria Airways since Africa's most populous state deregulated the sector in the mid-1980s.

The government, worried by the ageing aircraft often used by the dozen or so local airlines, last month banned the use of aircraft older than 22 years - triggering strong protests from private airline operators.

But for Kano's residents, the airline industry was guilty of putting profits before the safety of its passengers.

"What I find really bad is the callousness of it all," said one mourner.

"In this country we use planes that have been grounded by airlines in Britain and the rest of Europe.

"They sell them to us and we are the ones risking our lives."