Rescue teams are continuing efforts to clear the wreckage of a military plane that crashed at Igbokoda in the Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State on Monday, with no fewer than 32 individuals reported to be on board the ill-fated aircraft, believed to belong to the Nigerian Air Force (NAF).
During an assessment visit to the crash location on Tuesday, the Ondo State Commissioner of Police, Mr Felix Ohagwu, explained that the swampy, difficult terrain had hampered the retrieval of the aircraft and those on board.
“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,” Ohagwu stated.
He expressed gratitude to his personnel who have remained on site since Monday and noted that recovery operations were progressing, though he declined to elaborate further pending the conclusion of investigations by relevant agencies.
Confirming that no survivors had been found, the police commissioner revealed that officers found fragmented remains alongside debris from the aircraft scattered across the water.
“There are no survivors yet. We are yet to see any survivors. No survivors yet. From what we have seen since yesterday to now, on-the-spot assessment, there are no survivors. 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.