Abuja: Three people were killed when their small private plane crashed in southern Nigeria, rescuers have said after reaching the accident site.

The plane had gone missing a day earlier. Sam Adurogboye, a spokesman for the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, did not speculate on the cause of the crash yesterday, which killed two crew members and a businessman.

The West African nation has a history of air disasters. Hundreds of people were killed in four major crashes in 2005 and 2006. There were no major crashes last year.

There are many small private planes catering to Nigeria's wealthy elite, besides many commercial airlines operating in Africa's largest oil producer.

The authorities have vowed to regulate the aviation sector but analysts say reform is hampered by the country's endemic corruption.
Source : PTI