Recovery teams are struggling to remove the wreckage of the Nigerian Air Force aircraft that crashed in Igbokoda, Ondo State, as the difficult swampy terrain continues to hamper access to the site.
The Ondo State Commissioner of Police, Felix Ohagwu, disclosed this on Tuesday during an assessment visit to the crash site in Ilaje Local Government Area.
The ATR-42 aircraft, identified as NGR 931, crashed on Monday while travelling from Benin City to Lagos on a routine mission.
Preliminary information released by the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, indicated that 25 passengers and seven crew members were on board.
There have been conflicting reports over the final number of occupants, with some international reports citing a later Nigerian Air Force figure of 25. The Nigerian government and Presidency, however, have publicly referred to 32 people on board.
President Bola Tinubu has declared three days of national mourning for the personnel who died in the crash and directed that national flags be flown at half-mast across the country.
He also ordered the Nigerian Air Force to conduct a thorough investigation into the cause of the accident.
At the crash site, Ohagwu said the difficult terrain had slowed the recovery operation.
“What happened yesterday was quite unfortunate. It’s a very difficult terrain, the creeks, mangroves, assessing the site of the crash was not easy,” the commissioner said.
He disclosed that he had to use a canoe to reach the area during his assessment, while police personnel remained on the ground supporting the recovery effort.
According to Ohagwu, both aircraft components and human remains were scattered around the crash location.
“There are no survivors yet. We are yet to see any survivors,” he said, adding that responders had found body parts and passengers’ clothing in and around the water.
The police commissioner said larger equipment was needed to remove the remaining wreckage from the swamp.
“We are still expecting a bigger machine to be able to pull the wreckage from the water,” he said.
Ohagwu added that the police were awaiting assistance from the National Emergency Management Agency and other relevant agencies to provide the equipment required for the operation.
The difficult terrain had also been identified by Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa as one of the major challenges facing rescuers.
The governor said the aircraft went deep into a swampy area opposite the naval base in Igbokoda, making access to the main wreckage difficult.
The Nigerian Air Force said the aircraft was on a routine mission from Benin to Lagos and that an immediate search-and-rescue operation was activated after the accident.
Air traffic controllers lost contact with the aircraft at about 9:13am on Monday. The wreckage was subsequently located near the naval base in Igbokoda.
The crash has prompted a wider emergency response involving military personnel, police, emergency agencies and local responders.
The cause of the crash remains unknown. President Tinubu has directed the Air Force to investigate the incident and determine what led to the aircraft going down.
For responders at the scene, the immediate priority remains recovering the remaining wreckage and human remains from the swamp while preserving evidence that could assist the investigation into one of the country’s latest military aviation tragedies.
