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October 25, (THEWILL) – Two more bodies have been recovered from the helicopter that crashed in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.
Director General of the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB), Alex Badehade, disclosed this in a chat with newsmen on Friday.
THEWILL earlier reported that the helicopter en route from Port Harcourt Military Base (DNPM) to the NUIMANTAN oil rig with 6 passengers and two crew members, ditched into the waters near Bonny Finima in the Atlantic Ocean at about 11:22 AM.
Operated by East Winds Aviation and registered as 5NBQG, the helicopter was hired by NNPC Limited to ferry some contract staff to the NNPC facility FPSO-NUIMS ANTAN.
Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, in a statement issued by the ministry’s spokesperson, Odutayo Oluseyi, on Thursday, said that three bodies had been recovered while search operations were ongoing.
Speaking on Friday, Badehade said, “We have recovered two more bodies, making it a total of five. There are three more down there that hopefully will be recovered today.
“The priority is to recover the rest of the bodies there but there is a chance that some persons onboard the aircraft might be alive. Human beings are resilient. As long as they have their life support devices, there is a chance we might find survivors there”.
Badehade, who hinted that investigators are on their way to the scene of the accident, however, noted that it would take days for the wreckage of the aircraft to be recovered.
