December 1, 2023.
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A military helicopter belonging to the Nigerian Air Force has crash-landed and exploded at the NAF Base in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, 9News Nigeria has learnt.
Though what led to the crash could not be immediately ascertained as at the time of writing this report, it was learnt that the incident occurred around 7.50am on Monday, December 1.
“I was inside my apartment when I heard this thunderous sound at the NAF Base,” a source said.
“The next thing I saw was a thick flame. I don’t know if there are casualties because I can’t go close to the scene for now. But I heard a blast twice.”
Confirming the crash in a statement, the NAF Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet, said the NAF MI-35P had taken off to embark on an operation against oil thieves in Rivers State.
He added that five persons on board survived with minor injuries.
The statement read:
“A Nigerian Air Force (NAF) MI-35P helicopter has crashed at Port Harcourt today, December 1, 2023. The unfortunate incident occurred at about 7.45 am shortly after the aircraft took off for an operation against economic saboteurs in Rivers State.
” Fortunately, the entire crew of five survived the crash with very minor injuries and are currently being attended to at NAF Medical Centre Port Harcourt.’
He said the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar, is on his way to the scene to assess the situation.(www.naija247news.com).
