A military aircraft with 32 people on board has crashed near the Naval Base in Igbokoda, Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State.
The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, disclosed this in a statement following the disappearance of the aircraft from radar.
According to Keyamo, the aircraft, with tail number NGR 931, was en route from Benin to Lagos when Air Traffic Controllers lost contact with it at about 9:13 a.m. on Sunday.
He said all efforts to establish radio communication with the aircraft initially proved abortive before information later confirmed that it had crashed close to the Naval Base in Igbokoda.
“The wreckage has been located and search and rescue operations are ongoing,” the minister said.
Keyamo disclosed that preliminary information indicated that 25 passengers and seven crew members were aboard the aircraft.
He noted that the control and regulation of military aircraft were outside the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority.
The minister, however, said he had spoken with the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke, and pledged the ministry’s “total cooperation and assistance” in the ongoing search and rescue operation.
He said further information on the incident would be made available as it emerges.