Recovery Efforts Complicated After Nigeria Military Plane Crash

Search and rescue teams are continuing efforts to recover victims of a military aircraft crash in Nigeria’s Ondo state after all 25 people on board, including civilians, were killed.

The operation has been slowed by the location of the crash, which was in a swampy area that is difficult to reach. Local media reported that the aircraft wreckage was submerged, while sources at the scene said mangroves and murky water were complicating the work.

Divers Working at Crash Site

Divers were working at the site as teams sought to locate and recover those who died. At the time of the report, it was unclear whether any bodies had been recovered. The aircraft’s black boxes had also not been found.

Villagers who saw the aircraft go down travelled to the area by boat in an attempt to rescue passengers. Omotayo Orimisan described seeing the plane move from one side of the town towards the other side of a creek before its tail broke away with a loud noise.

“It touched the water, then lifted off again, then nosedived into the forest on the other side of the creek. It was as if a loud thunderstorm had struck,” Orimisan said.

He said villagers initially struggled to locate the aircraft. “We tried to find the plane but we didn’t see it,” he said.

Rescue Work Continues

Felisia Michel said the rescue team had been working since the previous day without rest in an effort to bring people out of the aircraft.

The crash has been described as one of Nigeria’s worst air disasters in recent years. The cause of the accident, the aircraft model and the identity of the victims had not been provided in the report.

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu declared three days of national mourning on Monday.