A Nigerian Navy Agusta reconnaissance helicopter marked 06 with three naval officers and one rating on board crashed in the swamps of Mmiri Ochiochi in Obodo Isiokpo in Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State yesterday, killing all the people on board.

The helicopter was heading to Lagos from Port Harcourt.The mangled bodies were being pulled out at the crash site opposite Government Secondary School, Isiokpo when THISDAY visited the scene.


Our correspondent who went to the scene of the crash by hiring local wooden boat was prevented by security men who got there earlier from taking photographs. The security men almost created a scene when a native came with a camera and tried to take shots was stopped by a naval personnel wearing JTF jacket.


Local youths who rushed to the scene almost beat up the personnel before the intervention by an army officer restored order.
Eyewitnesses told THISDAY that they noticed the helicopter in an obvious difficulty when one of its doors followed by the propeller started falling off from the sky around 1 pm yesterday.


They said they watched the helicopter going on a free spin before a loud bang followed apparently when it eventually crashed.
As at 4.30 pm when THISDAY left the scene of the crash, another Agusta helicopter, which operated with the crashed one from Air Force Base in Port Harcourt and an Apache helicopter were seen at the field of the Government Secondary School where the recovered bodies were taken to in an ambulance.


Villagers who assisted in the rescue efforts used machete to rip part of the plane apart to pull out the bodies and recover documents and belongings.
Police top hierarchy, government officials and other security outfits thronged the place while the amber uniforms of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) could not be missed at the scene.


Naval Public Relations Officer Edward Yeibo confirmed the crash but would not say where the helicopter was coming from.
Instead, he said naval authorities had sent people to the crash site to get more information.



http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=165175

Very pathetic! May their souls rest in peace! Only hope they knew Christ.

Am I bothered? No I don't. What about the poor masses that lost their lives on Nigeria road everyday on the death trap called road. They hardly made it to newspapers front page.

walata44:

Am I bothered? No I don't. What about the poor masses that lost their lives on Nigeria road everyday on the death trap called road. They hardly made it to newspapers front page.

Yes you have to be bothered whether it life lost on the benin ore road or lost via aircraft crash the fact it smells of incompetence - all could have been prevented.

I just hope they are happy wherever they are. . .

This is yet another national disaster. WALATA may not be wrong cos there a very many common nigerians who die untimely on daily basis courtsey of lackadisical attitude of our government. Nigeria is a perfect replica of Hobbesian state of nature where live is brutal, nasty, solitary and short. Rest in peace the departed naval officers and every other nigerian who has lost his soul.

This shld be d first helicopter crash in Nigeria.

Pls if u knw d IGP help us tell him to stop helicopters flying over our heads cos anything can happen to us. GOD knows iv neva trusted those helicopters rite from d first day i saw them flying.

Am just me:

This shld be d first helicopter crash in Nigeria.

Pls if u knw d IGP help us tell him to stop helicopters flying over our heads cos anything can happen to us. GOD knows iv neva trusted those helicopters rite from d first day i saw them flying.

wrong. many other heli's have crashed in Nigeria.

Accident happens, important is what measures we put in place to minimise future cases.

a pity

Very unfortunate. but are we sure there was no foul play somewhere. you never can trust Nigerians.

pathetic,

may God have mercy on them and their family,

and save we that remain.

May their soul[i][b]s rest in perfect peace.[/b][/i]

walata44 is correct

may their souls rest in peace.

meanwhile investigations should be carried out to acertain if the crash was as a result of sabourtage or caused by negligence or lack of maintainace of the aircraft, and those guilty brought to book to avoid future occurence.

May their sous rest in peace. Amen! All over d world aircrashes always make headlines, d ppl dat died in dat crash r ordinary citizens lik u & i, pursuin their daily bread in a not 2well paid job & sacrificin their lives 4an unappreciatin nation & ppl. Its just quite unfortunate!

walata44:

Am I bothered? No I don't. What about the poor masses that lost their lives on Nigeria road everyday on the death trap called road. They hardly made it to newspapers front page.

For Road accident to made it into the headline news then tens or hundreds of peopple have died and possibly it involved petrol tankers or something, u know. Souls perish roads everyday who cares? May Lord help us!!!

Sky Spirit:

May their sous rest in peace. Amen! All over d world aircrashes always make headlines, d ppl dat died in dat crash r ordinary citizens lik u & i, pursuin their daily bread in a not 2well paid job & sacrificin their lives 4an unappreciatin nation & ppl. Its just quite unfortunate!

May their soul rest in perfect peace,

Sad. may there souls rest where it belongs.

May God grant them rest.

May their soul rest in peace, i hope there would be something for their surviving families

@ poster.

They were doing surveliance on the Niger Delta Militants regrouping. soucres from the area say it was shut down by a stinger. They know what happened and know that the inability of other section of Nigeria to respect Niger Deltans for the milk they have always provided to that nation for 50 yrs. Its obvious they feel they are not entitled to rule.

The greatest mistake they will make is for the cabals in the North to kill or over throw the government. That will be the begining of the CIA / Brookings institute prediction. untill the Army Navy and airforce stop the over flights in that area. more will come down.

Those who have ears, let them hear. Infact they may hear. period.

@ poster.

They were doing surveliance on the Niger Delta Militants regrouping. soucres from the area say it was shut down by a stinger. They know what happened and know that the inability of other section of Nigeria to respect Niger Deltans for the milk they have always provided to that nation for 50 yrs. Its obvious they feel they are not entitled to rule.

The greatest mistake they will make is for the cabals in the North to kill or over throw the government. That will be the begining of the CIA / Brookings institute prediction. untill the Army Navy and airforce stop the over flights in that area. more will come down.

Those who have ears, let them hear. Infact they may hear. period.

it looks like a normal accident to me. . from the crash site
stop trying to claim what u didnt do. .

@paddy_lo

it looks like a normal accident to me. . from the crash site
stop trying to claim what u didnt do. .


====================================================

Do you understand English? I said sources from the area. I never said i did. Retarded fool. You cant contribute to a debate that enhance the unity of that country.

If its looks like an accident, thats okay. afterall you were not there just like me. so we all rely on hear say. No one here is claiming that i did it. '
Take your time ooooo.

Emmytega.
May their souls rest in peace, and i pray God should their family through.

Emmytega.
May their souls rest in peace, and i pray God should see their families through.

walata44:

Am I bothered? No I don't. What about the poor masses that lost their lives on Nigeria road everyday on the death trap called road. They hardly made it to newspapers front page.

I support you on this one, these are people who are in position to remedy and right the current situations, and yet when they die through their not doing and standing up for the right, peeps will come here feeling sorry for them. If they value human lives then it's not too difficult to do things the right and safe way.

@ walata44, you should be bothered. Those men were not some corrupt politicians but officers & rating of the Nigerian Navy. They put their lives on the line everyday so as to ensure that we all sleep well @ night. And they died on the line of duty, doing a job that I doubt you have the balls to do. Besides, they are fathers, sons, husbands, brothers, & children of someone. So show some bloody respect.


@ blacksta, why don't you wait till the official investigation is published before you accuse the navy air arm of incompetence. Machines will always fail e.g. the crash of the hi-tech airfrance airbus A-330 off the coast of brazil last year, the crash of the brazilian boeing 737-800 NG aircraft in the amazon 2 years ago, etc. Keep in mind that the Augusta 109 recon helicopter is a new generation hi-tech helicopter that can only be flown by competent pilots.

@ poster, an APACHE?! Typical Nigerian journalism with zero research. The Nigerian Airforce uses the Mi-35 attack helicopter, NOT the AH-64 APACHE. We don't have the later in our inventory.

That said, may their gentle souls rest in peace. Amen.

Amen

may thier souls rest in peace.  AMEN!!!

apache indeed. like someone said if they were not bombing their fellow countrymen i wud av sympathised but they prop up a corrupt regime(karma.nemesis) its only a matter of time although accidents will happen