A helicopter crash has killed two people and critically injured one person in the Opebi area of Lagos State on Friday, according to a state official.
Sources say that the helicopter, a Bell 206, with registration number 5N BQW which belongs to Quorum Aviation, came in from Port Harcourt, the Rivers state capital with two crew members and a passenger.
Director-General of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Dr. Femi Osanyintolu, confirmed that the accident happened at mid-day when a distress call was made.
The LASEMA boss noted that with the quick response by the emergency team, one person was rescued.
“At about 12noon, we received a distress call in our command and control centre that there was a helicopter mishap and immediately we activated the Lagos state emergency response team.
“We were able to rescue one person alive and he has been transferred to the Lagos state teaching hospital where he is receiving adequate treatment, but it is pertinent to note that we recovered two bodies and they have been deposited at the mortuary.
“Based on the investigation carried out, it was due to the impact that led to their mortalities,” Dr Osanyintolu stressed that people on the ground were not affected by the crash.”
Similarly, spokesman of the National Emergency Management Agency, Mr Ibrahim Farinloye said “about a few hours ago, we got information that there was a crash, so we contacted the control tower and they confirmed that they lost control. We called on NEMA headquarters to look at the distress alert which confirmed the crash and gave us the coordinates.
An eyewitness, Adepeju Johnson, was in her residence when she heard the noise from the helicopter blades, wondering what it was, she first thought it was about to rain, only to see thick black smoke and loud noise between her building and that of her daughter-in-law.
“This one landed where it was least expected. Unfortunately, the helicopter was between my house and my daughter-in-law’s house.
“There was a big sound I’ve never heard in my life, there was thick smoke, but there was no fire. All I have to do is to thank God because it did not land on the roof,” she stressed.
Meanwhile, the Accident Investigation Bureau has recovered the black box from the crashed helicopter while emergency response agencies began clearance of the wreckage from the scene.
