Military Aircraft Crash: ‘We are still expecting heavy equipment to lift the wreckage’ – Police Commissioner

More than 24 hours after the AT-42 Aircraft crashed on Monday, much of the wreckage is still submerged in the Igbokoda swamp.

Only a few parts of the wreckage and charred body parts were recovered late Monday.

When PREMIUM TIMES visited the scene, Naval officials had cordoned off the the area restricting access to the crash site.

Commissioner of Police, Felix Ohagwu, while speaking to journalists, said the plane crashed into a marshy area difficult to access.

He said only canoe could get there, making recovery of bodies very difficult.

Mr Ohagwu noted that the recovery process is so slow because most of the equipment needed for it have yet to arrive.

“Most of the heavy technical support needed are being awaited. Most of the scene have been calmed down. We are still expecting a bigger machine to be able to pull the wreckage from the water,” the comminssioner said.

“We have to pull it. So we are still expecting a response from NEMA and so on and so forth, so that they come with a bigger instrument to pull the wreckage out of the water.”

He said what happened on Monday was unfortunate, noting the very difficult terrain, the creeks and mangroves where the plane crashed.

“Assessing the site of the crash was not easy. I had to use a smaller boat, a canoe boat, to assess it,” he explain.

“We discovered that most of the body parts of the plane were just pieces. We saw the clothes, the body was only pieces.

“My men are still on the ground, trying to recover the wreckage. Both human parts and plane parts have been recovered since yesterday.

“They are still on the ground; we are on top of it. I thank the OC Marine, and the DPO Igbokoda, who have been on the ground since yesterday, giving us support.

“For now, the recovery of the wreckage is still in progress. I will not say much until after the conclusion of the investigation by the relevant agencies.”

No survivors

Mr Ohagwu also noted that that the searches so far is yet to reveal any survivors.

“There are no survivors yet. We are yet to see any survivors. No survivors yet. From what we have seen since yesterday to now, on-the-spot assessment, there are no survivors,” he said.

“What we see is just body parts and the clothes littered everywhere. Passengers’ clothes littered everywhere. Body parts floating in the water, and so on and so forth. So, evacuation continues.”

Meanwhile, residents are still thronging the river bank overlooking the forest where the plane crashed just to catch a glimpse of the ill-fated aircraft and the scene.

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Besides what has been put out by the police, there are no activities within the vicinity because that the accident scene is hidden away in the creek.

This reporter observed the arrival of officials of National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) at the Forward Opertion Base of the Nigerian Navy at Igbokoda at about noon on Tuesday along with some operatives of the Red Cross.

Journalists and some security officials were refused entry into the operating base even as senior officials of the naval base refuse to offer any word on the rescue operation.