Search and rescue underway after NAF ATR-42 crashes in Ondo with 32 aboard
Search-and-rescue operations are underway in Ondo State after a Nigerian Air Force ATR-42 aircraft carrying a preliminary total of 32 people crashed near Igbokoda in Ilaje Local Government Area.
The Nigerian Air Force said the aircraft was on a routine mission from Benin to Lagos when the crash occurred.
Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo said preliminary information showed 25 passengers and seven crew members were aboard.
That is the number reported aboard the aircraft. It is not a casualty figure.
As of the latest authoritative information available to IDNN, no confirmed number of deaths or survivors had been announced.
Wreckage located near Igbokoda
Keyamo said air traffic controllers lost contact with the aircraft at about 9:13am while it was travelling toward Lagos.
He said the wreckage was later located near the Naval Base in Igbokoda.
The minister said he had spoken with Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke and offered the cooperation of aviation authorities in the rescue effort.
The Nigerian Air Force said an immediate search-and-rescue operation was activated with relevant authorities and emergency-response agencies.
Ondo State authorities have also mobilised emergency, health and security resources to support the response.
NAF identifies aircraft as ATR-42
Some early reports described the crashed aircraft as a helicopter.
The Nigerian Air Force subsequently identified it as an ATR-42 aircraft.
IDNN is using the Air Force identification pending any further official clarification.
The NAF did not provide a confirmed casualty figure in its initial public account.
Casualty status remains unresolved
Early reports and eyewitness accounts have included claims of fatalities.
IDNN is not treating those accounts as an established death toll because no authoritative casualty figure has yet been issued by the Nigerian Air Force, aviation authorities or the official emergency response.
The confirmed figure at this stage is that preliminary information places 32 people aboard the aircraft.
That number should not be interpreted as the number killed or injured.
Cause of crash not established
Authorities have not announced a cause of the crash.
No conclusion has been reached publicly on whether mechanical, weather, operational, communications or crew factors contributed to the incident.
Those questions require investigation.
The immediate priority remains search and rescue and establishing the status of those aboard.
For now, what is established is that a Nigerian Air Force ATR-42 travelling from Benin to Lagos crashed near Igbokoda, preliminary information indicates 32 people were aboard, the wreckage has been located and search-and-rescue operations are underway.
What remains unknown is the confirmed number of survivors or fatalities and the cause of the crash.
