Eleven persons on Wednesday escaped
death after a Bristow 5B BJQ Helicopter enroute Lagos from an off- shore
location in Port Harcourt ditched inside the Lagos lagoon. The helicopter
was carrying nine passengers and two crew members on board when the incident
happened. The Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB), Nigerian Civil Aviation
Authority (NCAA) and the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA)
confirmed the incident.
Mr Sam Adurogboye, spokesperson of
NCAA, in a text message, said there was no casualty as the 11 persons on board
were rescued after the chopper ditched inside the Atlantic Ocean. “It
happened 70 Nautical Miles off Lagos. They were returning from their off-shore
location called ERA. Nine passengers and two crew on board all rescued alive,”
he said. The AIB in a statement also confirmed the crash.
“ A S76 C++ helicopter marked 5N-BQJ
belonging to Bristow Helicopters, which departed ERHA Platform enroute Lagos
was ditched into the Atlantic Ocean 95 nautical miles into destination at about
10:20am local time. “All the eleven souls on board including two crew
members were rescued alive. “Accident Investigation Bureau AIB has
commenced investigation into the occurrence. Details will be communicated to
you later,’’ it said.
Similarly, the General Manager of
LASEMA, Mr Michael Akindele, in a statement, said emergency responders
including three RRS search and rescue Helicopters, Nigeria Navy, Air Force and
others were deployed for the operation. “The helicopter ditched inside the
ocean, however 11 souls on board are alive, no casualty,’’ he
said. Akindele said Agip, Mobil and Shell oil companies helped with the
provision of speed boat to facilitate the rescue operation.
He said that Bristow Helicopter
company also provided landing boat for the evacuation of the
survivors. The Media Consultant to Bristow Helicopters, Mr Cornelius
Onuora, said the incident was not a crash but a controlled ditching, which was
an emergency landing of a helicopter on water. Onuora said the pilot
observed that there was a technical issue with the helicopter and he decided to
land it earlier than scheduled.
NAN recalls that the incident is coming barely
six months after another of the company’s choppers went down into the Lagos
Lagoon. Six of the 12 persons on board the ill-fated helicopter, including
the pilot and the co-pilot, died. The helicopter, which was enroute Lagos
from Akure, crashed into the Oworonshoki area of the lagoonVanguard
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