A chopper belonging to Bristow Helicopters, with registration number 5N – BDG – 760540 en route from Port Harcourt in the nation’s Niger Delta region crashed into the Oworonshoki end of the Lagos Lagoon on Wednesday, killing four of the 12 persons on board (including crew members).
Six persons on board the helicopter were rescued, of which two critically injured persons were rushed to Afolabi Hospital in Lagos Island, just as another one was being treated at the General Hospital on Broad Street in Lagos. Two others were yet unaccounted for as at press time.
Accordiing to a source, the copter, which crashed minutes before it was scheduled to touch down at the nearby Lagos airport, made a loud noise before crashing into the Lagoon. It was further gathered that the helicopter may have developed engine fault, leading to the crash.
A statement by the General Manager, Public Affairs, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Fan Ndubuoke, confirmed that the copter was scheduled to arrive Lagos at 15.35 pm.
He added that officials of the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB), National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the Nigeria Police, led by the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Oworonshoki, were involved in the rescue operations.
Ibrahim Farinloye, South-West spokesman for NEMA, in a text message told one of correspondents that the emergency management agency received maritime distress alert, following which all emergency rescue agencies like the marine police, NEMA officials and the Red Cross and the Navy, among others have moved to the scene of the incident.
Spokesman for the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB), Mr Tunji Oketunbi, stated the agency had been notified of the accident and investigators were on their way to access the situation.
Wednesday’s crash is coming, 13 months after an Mi-35 Russian-made helicopter of the Nigerian Air Force crashed in Borno State in the afternoon of July 21, 2014, during an alleged training mission.
The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) in a statement by its then spokesperson, Brigadier Gen. Chris Olukolade, in did not give the casualty figure.
It was learnt that two Nigerian Air Force officers, a pilot and a technician were killed in the crash. The second pilot in three-man crew was “recovered alive”. The statement gave no details further details on his condition.