A military aircraft carrying 25 passengers and seven crew members crashed in Nigeria’s southwestern Ondo state on Monday, with search and rescue operations underway, Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo said.

“I regret to inform the general public that Air Traffic Controllers have informed me of the disappearance of a military aircraft,” Keyamo said in a statement on X.

The aircraft, with tail number NGR 931, was travelling from Benin to Lagos when air traffic controllers lost contact with it at about 0913 GMT, Keyamo said in a statement.

“Subsequently, information, however, confirmed that the military aircraft has crashed close to the naval base in Igbokoda, Ondo State,” Keyamo said.

He said the wreckage had been located and search and rescue operations were ongoing.

Keyamo added he had spoken to Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke and pledged the aviation ministry’s cooperation and assistance with the rescue effort.

The minister said the control and regulation of military aircraft fell outside the authority of the Ministry of Aviation and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority.

Further information would be released as it becomes available, he said.