Questions continue to trail the recent crash of a helicopter conveying five expatriates, as well as a cache of arms and ammunition a few meters away from the main Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp in
Damare, near Yola, capital of Adamawa State on Monday 10th. Although the Defence Headquarters confirmed the crash, the identity of the occupants and their nationality remained unclear, sparking speculation.
The crash site in Damare, Girei Local Government Area is about 8 kilometers from Yola International Airport. Eyewitnesses who helped evacuate victims and the consignment told Weekly Trust that two of the people on board sustained fractures to their legs while three others, including a woman, were unhurt.
A resident said the helicopter hovered above his house for few minutes at about 10 o’clock on Monday morning with smoke billowing, before diving to the ground. Moments after the crash, he said, residents rushed to the scene to assist the injured, including the pilot who was initially trapped. He also added that a large quantity of ammunition and guns was stashed in the plane.
Several other witnesses interviewed at the crash site said they helped in evacuating twenty cartons of ammunition and guns from the chopper before the arrival of soldiers, who cordoned off the area, preventing journalists from accessing the area. Four other military helicopters landed near the crash site.
Another witness said he overheard one of the survivors mention that they came on a surveillance mission from the United States and had flown over Maraban Mubi, an area close to Mubi which was under the control of Boko Haram. The witness added that the aircraft was covered with thick fabric and loaded onto a truck after expatriate engineers dismantled it. A convoy escorted the truck that conveyed the aircraft from the crash site through the bridge across River Benue, along Mubi Road, towards the airport.
A security personnel who confirmed that five Americans were on board the chopper when it crashed, faulted the decision to allow foreign operatives to fly with arms and explosives without representatives of the Nigerian military on board.
However, another military source insisted that there were Nigerian personnel on the aircraft, adding that the expatriates were training some pilots and decided to use the opportunity to drop off arms and ammo to a nearby base. He however declined to comment on the nationalities of the expatriates.
The crash site in Damare, Girei Local Government Area is about 8 kilometers from Yola International Airport. Eyewitnesses who helped evacuate victims and the consignment told Weekly Trust that two of the people on board sustained fractures to their legs while three others, including a woman, were unhurt.
A resident said the helicopter hovered above his house for few minutes at about 10 o’clock on Monday morning with smoke billowing, before diving to the ground. Moments after the crash, he said, residents rushed to the scene to assist the injured, including the pilot who was initially trapped. He also added that a large quantity of ammunition and guns was stashed in the plane.
Several other witnesses interviewed at the crash site said they helped in evacuating twenty cartons of ammunition and guns from the chopper before the arrival of soldiers, who cordoned off the area, preventing journalists from accessing the area. Four other military helicopters landed near the crash site.
Another witness said he overheard one of the survivors mention that they came on a surveillance mission from the United States and had flown over Maraban Mubi, an area close to Mubi which was under the control of Boko Haram. The witness added that the aircraft was covered with thick fabric and loaded onto a truck after expatriate engineers dismantled it. A convoy escorted the truck that conveyed the aircraft from the crash site through the bridge across River Benue, along Mubi Road, towards the airport.
A security personnel who confirmed that five Americans were on board the chopper when it crashed, faulted the decision to allow foreign operatives to fly with arms and explosives without representatives of the Nigerian military on board.
However, another military source insisted that there were Nigerian personnel on the aircraft, adding that the expatriates were training some pilots and decided to use the opportunity to drop off arms and ammo to a nearby base. He however declined to comment on the nationalities of the expatriates.
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