Large sections of the Nigerian Air Force aircraft that crashed in Igbokoda, Ondo State, have been recovered as search and recovery operations continue at the crash site.
The debris was recovered on Wednesday, October 7, from the swampy area near the Nigerian Navy Forward Operating Base in Igbokoda, where the aircraft went down on Monday.
Ondo State Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa visited the naval base to assess the recovery operation and inspect some of the aircraft debris that had been retrieved from the site. Military authorities and other emergency responders are continuing efforts to recover the remaining wreckage.
The ATR-42 aircraft, with registration number NAF 931, was on a routine mission from Benin City to Lagos when air traffic controllers lost contact with it on October 5. The Nigerian Air Force later confirmed that 25 people — five crew members and 20 passengers — were on board and that there were no survivors.
Earlier recovery efforts brought out aircraft fragments, clothing and human remains, while the main body of the aircraft was believed to remain submerged in the swamp. Divers and other technical teams have been working to locate and retrieve the remaining parts of the aircraft.
The crash has prompted an investigation by military authorities, while President Bola Tinubu declared three days of national mourning in honour of the personnel who died in the accident.
