Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, has explained deployment of two amphibious machines, popularly known as swamp boogies, to site of Nigerian Air Force aircraft crash in Igbokoda, Ilaje Local Government Area of state.
Aiyedatiwa said machines were deployed to open wider access through waterways and facilitate recovery efforts at crash site, which is located in difficult-to-access swampy area.
Governor spoke on Wednesday when he visited scene of crash.
Nigerian Air Force aircraft, with tail number NGR 931, crashed near Naval Base in Igbokoda on Monday morning while on routine mission from Benin to Lagos.
Aircraft had 25 people on board — five crew members and 20 passengers — all of whom died in crash, according to Nigerian Air Force.
Crash occurred shortly after 9am, after air traffic controllers lost contact with aircraft at about 9:13am. Wreckage was subsequently located in Igbokoda area, with Nigerian Navy and Marine Police joining local efforts to search for victims and aircraft wreckage.
Aiyedatiwa described incident as national tragedy, saying difficulty in accessing crash site necessitated deployment of swamp boogies by state Ministry of Works.
He said main body of aircraft had not been sighted as of time of his visit, adding that it was believed to be submerged in swamp.
According to him, Navy personnel and local divers were searching deeper sections of area for bodies of victims and cockpit.
Governor said amphibious machines would help create wider access through waterways and make it easier for personnel involved in recovery operation to reach difficult sections of crash site.
Development comes as search operations continue at site, with movement to area restricted as security personnel work to recover victims and wreckage.
Nigerian Air Force has ordered comprehensive investigation into circumstances surrounding crash, while Federal Government has also directed probe into incident.
