Ondo State has deployed two swamp buggies to recover the wreckage of the NAF aircraft that crashed in Igbokoda, killing all 32 people on board.

The Ondo State Government has deployed two specialised swamp buggies to help retrieve the wreckage of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) aircraft that crashed in Igbokoda, headquarters of Ilaje Local Government Area, on Monday, a crash the NAF has since confirmed killed all 32 people on board.

Swamp buggies are specialised vehicles designed to move through swamps, marshes and other waterlogged or muddy terrain.

The aircraft, an ATR-42 twin-engine turboprop with tail number NGR 931, was on a routine mission from Benin to Lagos, carrying 25 passengers and seven crew members, when communication was lost at 9:13am. It crashed roughly 500 metres east of the Nigerian Naval Forward Operating Base in Igbokoda, in a swampy area opposite the base.

Slow Going in Difficult Terrain

Speaking with journalists on Tuesday at the crash site, Ondo State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Banji Ajaka, said conventional vehicles and boats could not access the location where the aircraft went down.

“The latest is that the swamp buggy has been deployed. Two of them are here now because that’s what is needed,” Ajaka said. “It’s not an easy thing. It’s not something that you can just take a vehicle or a speedboat to.”

He said the specialised machines would be used to reach the depth at which the aircraft had sunk, to assist in recovering the wreckage.

“You can see that this one comes with a low bed. I brought it. This one has to float and swim down to the other side so that they can get to the depth where the body of the aircraft is,” he said.

Ajaka attributed the difficulty in recovering the aircraft to the force of the impact and its weight, saying it had sunk deep into the swamp.

“It has gone down. You know the force, the weight and the force with which it went down. So, that is what we’re doing now. There is no delay. We are deploying as fast as possible,” he said.

Separately, the state Commissioner for Environment, Tob Loko, who also visited the scene, said evacuation of the wreckage had yet to begin as of Tuesday, noting that divers had located the aircraft but could only retrieve some parts because the boat available was too small to bring the wreckage out, which prompted the deployment of the Ministry of Environment’s swamp buggy. Commissioner for Land and Infrastructure Engr. Ayorinde Olawoye said the state had deployed all necessary machinery, including the swamp buggy, to support the operation.

Recovery Efforts Underway

Ajaka said senior military officers, including naval and air force commanders, along with state officials, were at the scene to coordinate recovery efforts. He added that divers had commenced underwater operations and were recovering portions of the wreckage, though the deeper sections of the aircraft remained inaccessible until the swamp could be excavated.

“The divers are doing their work. We are bringing wrecks out,” he said. “For the body, the real body, this has to go down. We have to excavate deep down for the aircraft to be brought out.”

Residents who witnessed the crash described the scene in the aftermath. One resident said thick swamp had prevented anyone from reaching the wreckage directly. “We couldn’t enter where the aircraft was because it was a deep swamp area that our boat could not even reach, but we saw body parts scattered all over the waterside,” the resident said. Another witness, Akinte Oluwatere, said: “There was nothing we could do to rescue anybody because the plane had already entered the swamp.”

All 32 on Board Confirmed Dead

NAF spokesperson Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame confirmed that the aircraft was on a routine mission from Benin to Lagos at the time of the crash, and that all 32 people aboard, 25 passengers and seven crew did not survive. Recovery teams have also been working to locate the aircraft’s flight data recorder.

The NAF said it activated an immediate search and rescue operation following the crash, and the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) commended the swift activation of that operation and the efforts of first responders at Igbokoda.

Ajaka said preliminary accounts indicated the pilots had diverted the aircraft away from the densely populated Igbokoda community before it went down.

“From eyewitness accounts, it would have caused a terrible accident in Igbokoda community, but for the bravery of the pilots who diverted it away from the community,” Ajaka said.

He described the crash as a “sad situation,” extending the state government’s condolences to the Nigerian Air Force, the Armed Forces, the affected families and the people of Ondo State. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) and the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) have also issued statements mourning the 32 victims.