A United Technologies employee and her children are feared dead after a plane crash in Nigeria over the weekend killed 153 people.
Maimuna Anyene, of West Harford, started working for United Technologies since April 2008, according to her LinkedIn page.
“Maimuna Anyene was an invaluable part of the United Technologies team for more than four years,” the company said in a statement. “We are saddened by the loss, and our thoughts and prayers are with her family and friends around the world. She will be deeply missed by all, including her colleagues at UTC."
Neighbors said that Anyene was on the plane with her four children, all under the age of 5, her husband, and her mother, on their way to her brother’s wedding. Anyene's husband lives in Nigeria, neighbors said.
"This is a devastating loss for our community," said Tegan Gonzalez. "She was a lovely woman with four beautiful children."
Flowers were placed outside the family's home on Park Place Circle Monday afternoon.
"It's shocking. It's beyond belief," said Jack Ohayon, a neighbor. "What a beautiful family, we see them everyday, and all of a sudden we hear they're all gone."
Local
The cause of the crash remained unclear. The pilots radioed to the Lagos control tower just before the crash, reporting engine trouble, a military official said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to journalists.
In a statement on its website, Dana Air said an investigation into the cause of the crash was already underway with U.S. officials assisting the Nigerian government. The company said the plane crashed with 146 passengers onboard, along with a flight engineer, two pilots and four cabin crew members.
The aircraft appeared to have come down Sunday on its belly onto the dense neighborhood that sits along the typical approach path taken by aircraft heading into Lagos' Murtala Muhammed International Airport. The plane tore through roofs, sheared a mango tree and rammed into a woodworking studio, a printing press and at least two apartment buildings before stopping. The plane was heading to Lagos from Abuja, the capital, when it went down.
