President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed an intensification of search and rescue for passengers of the ill-fated helicopter that crashed into the Atlantic Ocean, near Bonny Finima, in Rivers State, on Thursday.
This information was disclosed just as all eight persons aboard a helicopter hired by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), which was enroute one of its oil platforms in the Niger Delta died in a crash on Thursday.
Tinubu, in a release by his adviser on information and strategy, Bayo Onanuga, urged military officers involved in various operations in the zone to join the search and rescue mission, and provide all necessary support to the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB), Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), and other relevant agencies.
The president condoled with the board and staff of Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) and the families of all those who were confirmed to have passed on in the accident.
Eight persons, including two crew members (pilots) and six passengers, were confirmed dead as a helicopter on oil and gas shuttle service crashed off the coast of Calabar, Cross River State.
The six passengers were identified as Tamunoemi Soko; Alu Lawrence; Etim Emmanuel; Kenneth Chikwem; Frank Oriamre and Borris Ndorbo.
The helicopter, which was hired by NNPC, took off from Arik Air hangar at the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Base, Port Harcourt.
Deji Elumoye, Emmanuel Addeh, Chinedu Eze, and Peter Uzoho
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