Embassy confirms 6 Chinese were in Nigeria plane crash

The Chinese embassy in Nigeria on Monday confirmed the identity of the six Chinese passengers in Sunday's plane crash in Lagos which killed 193 people.

"We have confirmed that all six Chinese citizens on board were from Chinese enterprises engaged in infrastructure construction," said Qiu Jian, deputy consul-general of the Chinese consulate in Abuja.

West African United Business Weekly reported that four of the six Chinese passengers worked for China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation.

"The embassy is closely monitoring the incident," said embassy spokesman Ding Yonghua.

"We have sent officials to the accident scene. We have also established contacts with the companies, and relatives of the six Chinese citizens and extended our help," said Ding.

Trade between China and Nigeria has blossomed over the past few years.

More than 200 Chinese companies operate in Nigeria, and China's investment in the African nation is close to $8 billion. More than 40,000 Chinese citizens currently live in Nigeria.