On board were 12 people,
including two crew members.
Six others, who were injured,
were rescued from the scene of the crash, which was still being
combed late yesterday for the two missing persons.
The chopper, marked 5N –
BDG – 760540, was flying from an oil rig between Ondo and Lagos states,
with contractors of a dredging company, Indigo, who were
returning to base.
The incident
occurred at about 3:10pm at Oworonsoki.
Eyewitnesses said they saw the
chopper spinning before nose-diving 900 metres from the shore.
The victims had spent two
weeks on the rig and were coming back for their two-week break, as it is the
practice.
One person walked out of the
crash without assistance. He was taken to the hospital on a motorcycle. The
others had fractured limbs.
According to dredgers on
Alonge Street, where the chopper nose-dived, the six persons rescued alive
included a man who allegedly walked out of the crashed chopper, had serious
injuries and was in pains.
They alleged that the
co-pilot, who was among those rescued, had broken limbs and held his back,
gasping for air.
The dredgers said The their
efforts at rescuing the passengers before emergency agencies arrived at the
scene about 45 minutes later.
Ihindu, who alleged that his
divers and equipment were deployed immediately the incident occurred, said one
of the rescued passengers told them there were 14 people on board, including a
woman.
He said all those rescued were
male, identifying them as Solomon Ude, Joshua Emekanma, Chukwudi Onah, Dolu
Ebiejuara, Iniala Paimi and Onoriode Ojiete.
Recounting how the chopper
came down, Ihindu said it was very fast, adding that they had noticed it flying
very low.
According to him, the chopper
nose-dived into the lagoon.
He said local divers recovered
eight persons-seven injured and one dead- who were handed over to the police
for further action.
Corroborating his story, a
woman who identified herself as Ibirounke said: “We were here working when it
happened. The helicopter was flying towards this direction at low height. But,
suddenly it started spinning and turned on the opposite direction before going
underwater.
“Our men saved all those who
were alive. We rescued eight people from this side and of the eight, one died.
Seven others survived though they had serious injuries and some have drunk
water.
“On the other side, three
other bodies were recovered, making four dead. Some of the victims who could
talk told us that they work for Indigo Dredging.”
The Commissioner of Police,
Mr. Fatai Owoseni, the General Manager, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency
(LASEMA), Michael Akindele; Southwest Coordinator of the National Emergency
Management Agency (NEMA), Onimode Bamdele, Director, Lagos State Fire Service,
Rasaq Fadipe, personnel from the Nigerian Navy, NSCDC, NAMA, AIB, among
others were on ground.
Shoes, bags, life-jackets and
other personal effects of the victims recovered from the wrecked aircraft were
seen within the premises of a neearby police station.
A crowd gathered last night
outside the Oworonsoki police station.
In a joint situation report by
LASEMA, NEMA and Fire Service, Akindele said two of the injured persons were at
Afolabi Hospital. Four others were receiving treatment at the Gbagada General
Hospital.
He said the bodies of the dead
had been deposited at the Mainland General Hospital mortuary, adding that the
rescuers could neither state the airline, nor the exact number of those
onboard.
He said: “We were told that
there were 12 people on board. But unless we see the manifest, we cannot
confirm for sure. Right now, we are working with the alleged figure and so, are
looking for two more people allegedly missing.
“At the moment, we cannot give
you names of victims or the details of the aircraft because our primary concern
is to save lives.
“We are deploying equipment at
the moment to enable us work here all through the night until the missing
persons are recovered.
“Those injured are responding
to treatment at the various hospitals and we cannot be asking them questions
now because they are in pains,” Akindele said.
Giving details of the crash,
the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) said in statement through its
Commissioner, Dr Felix Abali “Twelve persons were believed to be on board.
There were casualties and survivors. It was a Bristow Helicopters’ chopper on
approach to landing in Lagos.
The Nigerian Civil Aviation
Authority (NCAA) also confirmed the helicopter crash.
A statement signed by NCAA’s
spokesman Fan Ndubuoke reads : “A Bristow Helicopter, with registration number
5N – BDG – 760540 en route from one of the nation’s oil rigs has
crashed at Oworonshoki in Lagos (yesterday).
“The Helicopter scheduled to
arrive Lagos 15.35pm had 12 (twelve) souls on board, including the
crew.However,the number of casualties is yet to be determined.
“At present, officials of the
Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB), National Emergency Management Agency
(NEMA) and the Nigeria Police are at the site providing rescue operation for
the victims.
“While this is ongoing,
further details will be communicated as appropriate.”
Lagos State Governor Mr.
Akinwunmi Ambode, commiserated with the victims of the crash last night.
Speaking through his deputy,
Dr. Oluranti Adebule, Ambode said the government dispatched its emergency team
to the site upon hearing of the accident, adding that top officials of the
government were at the site on the directive of the governor for first-hand
information.
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