An aircraft belonging to Bristow Helicopter crashed on Wednesday while heading to Lagos from Port Harcourt, Rivers state capital.
Adebayo Kehinde, public relations officer of Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), confirmed the incident to TheCable but did not give details.
Efforts reach Yakubu Dati, spokesman of the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), on the development did not yield any result, as he neither answered his calls nor responded to a text message.
The Accident Investigative Bureau (AIB) said there were nine passengers and two crew members on board the aircraft with registration number: N5BQJ. However, Michael Akindele, LASEMA’s general manager, said no life was lost in the incident.
“The helicopter ditched inside the ocean, however all the 11 persons on board are alive,” he said. “Agip, Mobil and Shell oil companies provided speed boats, while Bristow Helicopter also provided landing boat for the evacuation of the survivors.
“Their survival is in adherence to the use of life jacket and the recently conducted emergency preparedness simulation of air crash by NEMA, LASEMA and other stakeholders. “Further investigation on the crash will be looked into by the relevant authorities.”
The incident comes five months after a Bristow helicopter with 12 people on board crashed into a lagoon at the Oworonshoki axis of the third mainland bridge in Lagos, killing six people.