Nigeria has launched a search-and-rescue operation after a military aircraft carrying 32 people crashed in Ondo State in the country's southwest.

The wreckage of the ATR-42 aircraft has been located near the naval base in Igbokoda, Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo announced on Monday.

The plane disappeared while flying from Benin to Lagos. Air traffic controllers lost contact with the aircraft at 09:13 local time (08:13 GMT). Repeated attempts to reach it by radio were unsuccessful.

Preliminary information indicated that 25 passengers and seven crew members were on board, Keyamo said.

"The wreckage has been located and search and rescue operations are ongoing," Keyamo said in a statement on social media.

The Nigerian Air Force described the flight as routine. Rescue teams have been deployed to the crash site.

Keyamo said he had spoken with Nigeria's Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke, and offered the Aviation Ministry's "total cooperation and assistance" in the rescue effort.

Authorities have not yet confirmed any casualties. It was not immediately clear how badly the aircraft was damaged.