Helicopter Crash Update: Five additional bodies recovered in Port Harcourt

The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) has announced that five more bodies have been recovered six days after a helicopter crash in Port Harcourt.

NSIB noted that one of the bodies required specialized handling due to its advanced state of decomposition before being taken to the morgue. The incident involved a Sikorsky SK76 helicopter, registered as 5NBQG, which crashed last Thursday while transporting eight individuals from the Port Harcourt Military Base to the NUIMANTAN oil rig.

Initially, four bodies were recovered, while four others remained unaccounted for, prompting search teams to enhance their recovery efforts. Solomon Adetokunbo, an NSIB official, clarified, “Four bodies were previously recovered, while five bodies were recovered today. The bodies recovered today have not been identified; hence, it can’t be ascertained that all were aboard the ill-fated helicopter.”

In a statement, Mrs. Bimbo Oladeji, NSIB’s Director of Public Affairs and Family Assistance, elaborated: “A total of five bodies were located and recovered today, though the fifth body requires specialized handling due to its decomposed state before being transported to the morgue.”

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The recovery efforts today followed a detailed timeline:
– At 09:35 AM, the HD Steadfast vessel identified a body in the water, prompting the deployment of the Fast Rescue Craft (FRC) for retrieval.
– By 09:40 AM, Antan HSE and Security teams were coordinating an evacuation plan.
– At 09:55 AM, Eastwind Aviation was contacted to explore potential air ambulance support.
– By 10:40 AM, a drone was deployed by HD Steadfast to conduct an aerial search for additional bodies.
– The FRC faced challenges due to sea conditions but successfully retrieved the body at 11:15 AM and prepared it for transport.
– An identification process began at 11:41 AM, with investigators examining specific characteristics of the body.

Further support was requested from the Nigerian Navy for logistical assistance. The body was evacuated to land by 12:49 PM, and Eastwind Aviation provided crew photographs to aid in identification efforts.

By 8:00 PM, divers discovered fragments of fiberglass and aluminum, believed to be from the aircraft. These findings are expected to help adjust the search grid as NSIB continues to intensify recovery operations in the area.

“Divers have remained active on the seabed, conducting a thorough sweep based on recent information about the crash site’s possible location,” said NSIB. They noted that calculations on tidal flow indicated the helicopter likely entered the water approximately 1,850 meters west of the initial recovery site, prompting a relocation of the search area. As of now, no signal from the locator beacon has been detected at this new position.

To enhance search coverage, NSIB has mobilized two vessels equipped with side-scan sonar and is expecting four additional units from Port Harcourt to join in the search efforts.

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