Seventy-two hours after a Nigerian Air Force aircraft crashed in Igbokoda, Ondo State, the main wreckage and remains of the victims are yet to be fully recovered.
Twenty-five people died when the ATR-42 aircraft, on a routine Benin-Lagos flight, crashed into a swamp near the Naval Forward Operating Base on Monday.
Recovery efforts have been slowed by the difficult terrain, with only fragments recovered so far. Heavy-duty swamp buggies, Navy divers, drones and sonar equipment have now been deployed to locate the submerged aircraft.
Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, who visited the site, said the wreckage could be deeply buried in the mud. He also disclosed that aviation fuel was leaking into the swamp.
The Nigerian Navy has commenced an underwater survey using side-scan sonar to establish the aircraft’s exact location and guide the recovery operation.
Military authorities said the operation would continue with support from emergency agencies, technical teams and local stakeholders.
