NAF Crash: ‘Wreckage, Body Parts Trapped In Swamp’ – Police

The Ondo State Commissioner of Police, Felix Ohagwu, has said efforts to recover the wreckage and victims of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) aircraft that crashed in Igbokoda, Ilaje Local Government Area, are still ongoing.

The aircraft reportedly crashed in the coastal community on Monday, with officials yet to confirm the exact number of casualties.

Speaking during an assessment visit to the crash site on Tuesday, Ohagwu said the difficult swampy terrain had made the recovery operation particularly challenging.

The police commissioner said officers and other responders had remained at the scene since the incident, but recovering the wreckage and human remains had proved difficult because of the creeks and mangrove environment.

Ohagwu said, “What happened yesterday was quite unfortunate. It’s a very difficult terrain, the creeks, mangroves, assessing the site of the crash was not easy. I had to use a smaller boat, a canoe, to assess it.

“My men are sitting on the ground, trying to recover the wreckage. Both human parts and plane parts have not been recovered since yesterday. They are still on the ground; we are on top of it.”

Ohagwu said he would not make further comments on the circumstances surrounding the crash until the relevant agencies concluded their investigation.

“I will not say much until after the conclusion of the investigation by the relevant agencies,” he added.

The police boss also said no survivor had been found during the ongoing operation.

“There are no survivors yet. We are yet to see any survivors. No survivors yet,” he said.

According to him, an on-the-spot assessment showed that the crash had left parts of the aircraft and human remains scattered around the water.

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

The commissioner said the police and other responders required heavier equipment to remove the aircraft wreckage from the water.

He said authorities were awaiting assistance from the National Emergency Management Agency and other relevant agencies.

“We are still expecting a bigger machine to be able to pull the wreckage from the water. We have to pull it,” Ohagwu said.

He added, “So we are still expecting a response from NEMA and other agencies, so that they come with a bigger instrument to pull the wreckage out of the water.”

The police commissioner commended officers and other personnel who had remained at the scene since the crash, assuring that recovery efforts would continue.