Army Helicopter on Surveillance Crashes, Four Feared Dead
Helicopter belonging to the Nigerian Military has crashed in Damare, a suburb of Girei Local Government Area of Adamawa State, allegedly killing all the four persons on board.
According to the Defense spokesperson, Major General Chris Olukolade, the crash happened near a camp built for internally displaced persons in the state about 4.48 am. “But I cannot say categorically whether there is survivor or not, as I am yet to have details of the incident.”
As at the time of compiling this report, the Nigerian Army has not released a statement as regards the helicopter crash.
Although the cause of the accident is still unknown, it was however gathered that the helicopter was on patrol when the crash happened.
Confirming the incident, a resident that lives close to the scene of the crash, Jamilu Inuwa, said he saw the chopper go down.
“The helicopter crashed in Damare,” he said. “I don’t know if it is a military plane or not,” he added.
Also, it was gathered that that the helicopter was on surveillance mission and was carrying arms and ammunition.
“Immediately after the crash, soldiers were drafted to the scene to cordon off the place,” sources confirmed to our Correspondent.
It was learnt that the scene of the crash is not far from the temporary camp of the National Youth Service Corps which is serving as a base for the internally displaced persons [IDPs] in the state.
This is happening barely five days after some local fishermen reportedly found parts of Nigeria Air Force’s Alpha Jet (NAF 466), which disappeared on September 12, during routine operations in the northern part of Adamawa State in the River Benue.
The Nigerian military had said that the jet went missing while on a mission in Adamawa State.
Meanwhile, the Boko Haram sect had claimed in a video in which they appeared to allegedly slaughter one of the pilots of the missing Alpha Jet that they shot down the jet.