A Nigerian Air Force plane carrying 32 people crashed in Igbokoda area of Ondo state on Monday, and the state governor said a mechanical problem was the likeliest cause, with no survivors reported so far.
The ATR-42 aircraft, tail number NGR 931, was on a routine flight from Benin to Lagos when air traffic controllers lost contact with it at 09:13 local time (08:13 GMT), after repeated radio attempts failed.
Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo said the wreckage had been found near the naval base in Igbokoda, in Ilaje Local Government Area.
“The wreckage has been located and search and rescue operations are ongoing,” Keyamo said in a statement on social media.
‘No survivor yet’
Ondo State Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa told Channels Television’s Politics Today shortly after the crash that no survivors had been reported.
“So painful,” he said. “No survivor yet, from the information I have gotten.”
Preliminary information indicated that 25 passengers and seven crew members were on board. The air force described the flight as routine.
Weather ruled out
Aiyedatiwa said the aircraft appeared to have developed a fault in flight. He dismissed bad weather as a factor, saying such conditions would probably have prevented the plane from taking off.
“Anything could have happened in terms of a mechanical issue; it is not a case of weather because if it is weather, they would not even take off in the first place,” he said.
“It is not a case of wanting to land like I said. So, some kind of technical problem might have happened to the aircraft that would make it lose signal,” he added.
Rescue effort
Rescue teams have been sent to the site, and search-and-rescue operations are continuing in coordination with relevant agencies.
Keyamo said he had spoken with Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke and offered the Aviation Ministry’s “total cooperation and assistance” in the rescue effort.
Authorities have not yet officially confirmed any casualties or the extent of the damage to the aircraft. The cause of the crash has not been established.
