NAF Plane Crash: Search For Black Box Intensifies As Igbokoda Monarch Raises Pollution Alarm

One week after a Nigerian Air Force (NAF) aircraft crashed into a swamp in Igbokoda, Ondo State, divers and rescue teams have intensified efforts to recover the black box and remains of the victims.

The ATR-42 aircraft plunged into a swamp near the NAF Forward Operating Base in Igbokoda, headquarters of Ilaje Local Government Area, on October 5, killing all 25 people on board, comprising five crew members and 20 passengers. The aircraft was reportedly on a routine mission from Benin City, Edo State, to Lagos when the incident occurred.

The search and recovery operation, which began shortly after the crash, has yielded fragments of the victims’ bodies and broken parts of the aircraft, making the identification of the deceased difficult.

This is as the traditional ruler of Igbokoda, Oba Afolabi Odidiomo, alleged that the community’s “water source” has now been contaminated following the crash of the ill-fated NAF aircraft.