By Samuel Olusegun Precious
Mystery has continued to trail the crash of a Nigerian Air Force aircraft in Ondo State as search teams have so far recovered only fragments of the plane, uniforms and ID cards, with no survivor found.
Ondo State Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, who visited the crash site in Igbokoda, Ilaje Local Government Area on Tuesday described the scene as a “very gory sight” and said the main wreckage was yet to be recovered 72 hours after the incident.
The NAF ATR-42 aircraft with tail number NGR 931 was on a routine mission from Benin to Lagos when it crashed at about 9:13 a.m on Monday, October 5 into a swampy area opposite the Naval Forward Operating Base in Igbokoda.
Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo confirmed 32 persons were on board – 25 passengers and 7 crew members. It was later debunked as only 25 passengers were on board as confirmed by the Nigerian Airforce.
Speaking on Channels TV, Governor Aiyedatiwa said information reached him at 10:30 a.m through Ilaje Local Government Area Chairman, Maurice Oripelaye, after residents across the river reported a loud sound like thunder and saw the aircraft dive into the swamp.
He said Navy personnel initially held back fearing explosion or fire, before moving in with SEMA officials, Amotekun operatives and local residents.
“No single life was saved up to this moment. They could not see any living souls in that aircraft. They saw the ruins, wreckage from the wings, some ID cards and uniforms,” Aiyedatiwa said.
A resident, Oluboyo Olusola, who reached the site said human remains, clothes, shoes and personal effects were scattered across the water, with some bodies trapped inside the swamp. The Olu of Igbokoda, Oba Afolabi Odidiomo, said a substantial part of the aircraft went deep into the water during rainfall.
Ondo State Police Commissioner, CP Felix Ohagwu, who also visited the site on Tuesday said the creeks and mangrove terrain made recovery difficult.
“My men are sitting on the ground, trying to recover the wreckage. Both human parts and plane parts have not been recovered since yesterday. There are no survivors yet. What we see is just body parts and cloth littered everywhere,” Ohagwu said.
Governor Aiyedatiwa said the depth of the swamp may have swallowed the fuselage, noting from construction experience, the mud could be up to 30 metres deep to refusal level. He said jet fuel was also polluting the water. He has directed the Ministry of Works to deploy two amphibious swamp buggies to open access and excavate the wreckage, while awaiting heavier equipment from NEMA.
The Nigeria Airforce on Tuesday released the names of the 20 passengers and five crew members who perished in the crash including a newly wedded officer.
President Bola Tinubu has declared three days of national mourning and ordered the Air Force to investigate the crash. Flags are flying at half-mast nationwide.
