A military aircraft carrying 25 passengers and seven crew members crashed in southern Nigeria, authorities said on Monday.

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu later said all 32 people on the plane had died in the crash, extending his "deepest condolences" to the deceased's loved ones. 

The aircraft was on a routine mission to Lagos, Nigeria's economic hub, when it crashed in the Igbokoda area of Ondo state, Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo said in a statement.

Wreckage located

Keyamo said the aircraft disappeared from radar at around 9 a.m. local time (7:00 a.m. GMT) and was later found to have crashed about halfway through its journey from Edo state to Lagos.

He said the wreckage had been located near a naval base.

The Nigerian Air Force identified the aircraft as an ATR-42 and said an immediate search and rescue operation had been launched.

A video circulating on social media showed a small crowd gathered near a river as rescuers searched the area by boat.

Locals told AP news agency about what they had heard and seen.

"The plane cleared some trees. We found some body parts, some clothes and shoes," one of the locals said.

Edited by: Wesley Dockery

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