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The vice presidential candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Fola Adeola, who narrowly escaped harm when the plane conveying him and other ACN leaders crash-landed at the Bauchi airstrip, said yesterday that the occupants never knew of the accident until they disembarked from the plane. He gave kudos to the pilot for exhibiting experience and professionalism in saving their lives.

He spoke with journalists in Abeokuta, explaining that the forceful landing of the 5N BMR aircraft they boarded was initially thought to be a minor incident. He has, however, called for probe of the incident.

Mr. Adeola, who said he was in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital, to seek support of his party members in the forthcoming elections, revealed that it was on getting off the plane that he and others realised the incident could have been fatal.

"We never knew that our plane crashed-landed. I was amazed until somebody told me. It was Ribadu who later told me that I have just escaped death. When I looked outside from Ribadu's plane to view our own plane and I discovered that it was full of blood stain, but we were not conscious as at the time it was landing and I started wondering; is the situation that bad?"

Mr. Adeola said it is shameful that animals are found on the runway.

He lamented that the incident was turned into an issue because of the personalities involved, pointing out that if it were to be relatively unknown passengers, it would have been kept under the carpet, adding that everybody should be treated equally..

"It is a matter of lives, and I think we should not toy with any lives no matter the position of the person involved; we are all equal. It can happen to anybody, and there should also be probe. Thank God I am not dead neither am I injured, but it gave me a lot of concern."

On how he joined politics and became Vice-Presidential candidate, Mr. Adeola said, "It took me one week to accept to be the vice presidential candidate to Nuhu Ribadu."

Fourteen people were, on Tuesday night, killed in a car crash on the Benin-Ore Road. The accident involved a commercial bus heading to the eastern part of the country and a truck. Five people reportedly sustained serious injuries in the incident which occurred close to Ogbemudia Farms in Edo State.

Witness accounts state that the bus ran into the on-coming truck at about 7:20 pm. The corpses of the dead, six females and eight males, were deposited at the University Teaching Hospital, Benin. Passersby and police officers on routine check close to the area assisted to pull out some of the trapped victims...

The Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Commission, Olatunji Sunday, confirmed the incident. He attributed the apparent cause of the accident to either over-speeding or overtaking on the party of the driver of the bus, adding that both the dead and survivors were taken to the hospital.

Mandela, 91, is widely credited with helping South Africa win the World Cup bid in 2004 and South Africans have been hoping he might be able to attend the opening match despite his frail health.

Zenani Mandela, killed two days after her birthday, was one of Mandela's nine great-grandchildren.

"Zenani Mandela, 13, was traveling in a car returning from the World CupKick-Off Concert at Orlando Stadium when the accident occurred," a statement from the Foundation said.

"There was only one car involved and no one else was injured."

Mandela's ex-wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela was in the car, the South African Press Association quoted police as saying. Police spokesman Noxolo Kweza said the driver had been arrested and police were investigating a case of culpable homicide.

The Mandela Foundation said the family had asked for privacy. Zenani was a grand-daughter of Zindzi Mandela, Nelson Mandela and Winnie Madikizela-Mandela's daughter..

A Libyan Airbus crashed when trying to land at Tripoli airport early on Wednesday, killing 103 passengers and crew aboard, but a Dutch child survived, Libyan officials said.

Libya's Afriqiyah airline said it operated the plane, which was flying from Johannesburg in South Africa to Tripoli. Planemaker Airbus said the jet was an A330-200 and the firm would help authorities with their investigation..

"All of the passengers and crew died except for one child," a Libyan security source told Reuters at Tripoli airport. "There were 93 passengers and 11 crew on board."

Libya's Transport Minister Mohamed Zidan said the 10-year-old child, who holds a Dutch passport, was in hospital.

The child did not have life-threatening injuries, the minister told a news conference near the crash site.

The casualties included 22 Libyans, including passengers and crew, and the rest were of various nationalities, a Libyan official at the airport said.

In a statement posted on its website, Afriqiyah Airways said its flight 8U771 had an accident during landing at Tripoli International airport. An airport official said the plane crashed at 6.10 a.m. local time (0410 GMT).

Airbus issued a statement confirming it had manufactured the plane involved in the crash. "Airbus will provide full technical assistance to the authorities responsible for the investigation into the accident," it said.

A South African foreign ministry spokeswoman said the plane had left Johannesburg en route to Libya the previous evening.

Passengers on Dana Air's 9am Abuja bound flight from Lagos on Monday escaped a crash after one of the engines of their aircraft witnessed bird strikes some minutes after takeoff..

The aircraft which took off from the Murtala Mohammed Airport 2 (MMA2), Lagos with 97 passengers onboard, had to effect an emergency landing at the international wing of the airport when sparks resulting into smoke emanated from its affected engine.

"Some minutes after we took off from the airport, the captain announced that there was a bird strike and it has affected one of the engines," said Adeleke Babatunde, a passenger onboard the flight.

The situation, which made some residents of Mafoluku, a community close to the airport, run out of their houses in order to avoid casualties, was meticulously controlled by the aircraft pilot who landed the flight 9J 995 plane some minutes after the incident.

"We saw the plane shaking as large smoke came out of its engines and we had to run out for safety," said a resident who gave her name as Uchechi.

Commenting on the incident, Jacky Hathiramani, chief operating officer for Dana Air in a statement admitted that the aircraft suffered bird strike, adding that the captain had to make an emergency landing in line with the airline's safety and service policy.

"All 97 passengers and crew disembarked the aircraft safely, and the aircraft was taken to the hanger," he said. "Most of the passengers were booked on alternative Dana Air flights to Abuja while a few who preferred a refund were given." Mr. Hathiramani, however, thanked passengers onboard the aircraft for their cooperation, as well the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and all airport authorities for their responsiveness and support.

Bird strikes or Bird Aircraft Strike Hazards (BASH) are collisions between airborne animals and man-made vehicles or aircraft.