Tragedy struck around 3.30pm in the Alonge area of Owonroshoki, Lagos, as a Bristow helicopter carrying 10 passengers with two crew members on board, plunged into the lagoon.
It was learnt that four people were killed, while no fewer than six others sustained varying degrees of injury.
The aircraft crashed about five minutes to its scheduled landing time at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos.
The helicopter, with registration number, 5N-BDG-760540, was coming from one of the oil rigs in the country.
It was learnt that many of the victims were working for an oil service firm, which was doing a job for a multinational oil company. The oil workers were coming back to Lagos when the incident occurred. The identities of the victims had yet to be known.
It was gathered that some fishermen, who were operating on the water at the time the incident happened, initiated the rescue mission.
Agencies, including the Accident Investigation Bureau, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, the Lagos State Fire Service, the police, Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, and the National Emergency Management Agency, were seen making efforts to recover the remaining two persons in the water.
The two missing persons had yet to be recovered as of 8.30pm when our correspondent left the area.
A resident of Onabanjo Street, Joshua Oladipupo, said he witnessed the moment the helicopter lost control and plunged into the water.
He said, “This afternoon around 3pm, I saw the chopper struggling to find a safe place to land. Suddenly, it nose-dived and I didn’t see it again. I rushed down to the scene. I saw two survivors swimming out of the lagoon.”
The Chairman of the boat operators group in the area, Alhaji Rasaq Isiaq, said he directed his men to rescue the victims immediately after the crash.
He said, “Initially, the aircraft wanted to land on a two-storey building, but moved forward and crashed inside the lagoon. I called my boys instantly and notified the DPO of the station. We rescued six people alive while four were dead.”
Another eyewitness, Mrs. Funmilola Adebiyi said the security agents arrived in the area about 30 minutes after the incident.
The spokesperson for NEMA, Ibrahim Farinloye, said, “The Accident Investigation Bureau will make proper briefing about the incident and other issues after investigation. We have asked the navy to help in the rescue operation.”
LASEMA General Manager, Mr. Michael Akindele, said the identities of the victims would be confirmed as soon as the manifest was received.
He said, “We are still awaiting the manifest but we were told that 12 people were on board. The four corpses had been taken to the Mainland Hospital Mortuary. As I speak to you, rescue operations are still on.”
The General Manager, Public Affairs, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, Mr. Fan Ndubuoke, in a statement confirmed that 12 persons were on board the ill-fated aircraft.
He stated that workers were on ground to rescue the victims.
The NCAA statement read in part, “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 this evening.
“The helicopter scheduled to arrive Lagos at 15.35pm had 12 people on board including the crew. However, the number of casualties has yet to be determined.
“At present officials of the Accident Investigation Bureau, National Emergency Management Agency and the Nigeria Police are at the site providing rescue operation for the victims.”
Bristow Helicopters Chief Pilot, Captain Obinna Ojiako, told one of our correspondents on the telephone that the company was still gathering information on the accident. He promised that a statement would be issued, which had yet to be done as of press time.
Officials from aviation agencies, including the Accident Investigation Bureau and the NCAA, told one of our correspondents that there were no indications that the pilot made a distress call before plunging into the lagoon.
Sources said Bristow officials had called aviation agencies to inform them that the aircraft they were expecting to land had yet to do so.
The development, it was learnt, made the aviation agencies to trace the whereabouts of the helicopter.
Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the Accident Investigation Bureau, Mr. Tunji Oketumbi, said a team of investigators led by its Commissioner, Dr. Felix Abali, had been dispatched to the site.
Oketunmbi said in a statement, “Investigation has commenced with AIB Commissioner, Dr. Felix Abali, leading the team.”
It is unclear what happened before the chopper plunged into the lagoon, but pilots said engine issues were usually the most common among the problems that could make a chopper to crash. – Punch.
