The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) says two more bodies have been recovered from the site of a helicopter that crashed offshore Bonny Island, Rivers state on Thursday.
On October 24, the helicopter, operated by East Wind Aviation and hired by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, crashed on its way from the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) base in Port Harcourt to the national oil company’s floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) facility.
The aircraft, carrying six passengers and two crew members, plunged into the Atlantic Ocean near Bonny Finima, off the coast of Calabar, around 11:22am.
Earlier, the ministry of aviation and aerospace development, said three persons died in the crash.
Speaking when he featured on a Channels Television programme, Alex Badeh, NSIB director-general, said the remaining bodies would hopefully be recovered today.
“We have recovered two more bodies, making it a total of five. There are three more down there that hopefully will be recovered today,” he said.
Asked if there are chances that none of those on board the aircraft survived the crash, Badeh said, ”unfortunately this time, that is the working theory”.
He said investigators are on their way to the scene of the accident, adding it would take days for the wreckage to be recovered.
Badeh added that “the priority is to recover the rest of the bodies there” but that “there is a possibility that some persons on board 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,” he said.
On the cause of the incident, Badeh said poor weather conditions may have been a factor.
“We would look into that. That might have a chance or a role to play,” he said.
“Other than that, I can’t really say until we recover the flight recorder and speak to more witnesses there,” he said.
