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Black box of crashed helicopter not found, search continues today – NSIB

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The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) says the black box, flight data recorder (FDR), or cockpit voice recorder (CVR) of a crashed helicopter are yet to be recovered.

 

On October 24, the Sikorsky SK76 helicopter, operated by East Wind Aviation and hired by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, nosedived in Rivers state.

 

By analysing data from the devices, investigators can piece together the events leading up to the crash and identify its cause.

 

The helicopter was flying from the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) base in Port Harcourt to the national oil company’s floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) facility when the accident occurred.

 

The aircraft, carrying six passengers and two crew members, plunged into the Atlantic Ocean near Bonny Finima, off the coast of Calabar.

Five bodies have been recovered from the site of the crash.

 

In a statement issued on Saturday, Bimbo Oladeji, director of public affairs and family assistance at NSIB, said the search was suspended on Saturday due to “loss of daylight”.

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Oladeji said the search will resume today, adding that more equipment will be deployed to enhance the operation.

 

“As of 11:55 AM today (Saturday), divers began setting up and checking equipment to conduct an underwater search and recovery, followed by preliminary sweeping operations at 2:15 PM,” the statement reads.

“However, by 4:30 PM, diving activities were suspended due to the loss of daylight. Recovery operations are set to resume tomorrow (Sunday) at 9:00 AM local time.

 

“Despite extensive search efforts, no wreckage or critical components – such as the black box, Flight Data Recorder (FDR), or Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) – have yet been located due to the challenging conditions of the operating environment, limited visibility at depth and human divers’ operational constraints.

 

“To enhance recovery efforts, the NSIB is working to deploy a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) equipped to operate at depths of up to 1,000 meters.

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“With its advanced cameras, sensors, and Tether Management System (TMS), the ROV will enable the NSIB team to conduct detailed surveys, collect environmental data, and capture critical evidence essential to understanding the cause of the incident.

 

“The ROV’s capacity for close inspections and light manipulation tasks will be invaluable in such deep-water environments, where it will aid in assessing wreckage conditions, gathering vital data, and developing insights into potential causes.

 

“The NSIB is collaborating closely with an amalgamated team of search, rescue, and recovery units comprising various government agencies and private entities.

 

“The Bureau urges the public to avoid speculation, emphasizing the importance of respecting the integrity of the recovery and investigation as they progress.”

NSIB added that it remains committed to transparency and accountability to enhance transportation safety across Nigeria.

 

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JUST IN: NSIB locates wreckage of crashed helicopter in Port Harcourt

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The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) says its search and recovery teams have successfully located the wreckage of the ditched Sikorsky SK76 helicopter.

In a statement on Thursday, Bimbo Olawumi Oladeji, NSIB’s director of public affairs and family assistance, said the wreckage was identified during recovery dives conducted on Wednesday night.

Details later…

READ  JUST IN: Access Holdings confirms death of Wigwe, wife, son, in US helicopter crash
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Don’t Patronise Fake Oil And Gas Bodies, NUPENG Cautions

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The leadership of our Union has identified fraudulent advertisements from individuals falsely claiming to represent a dubious association of Transporters and Oil and Gas Marketers.

The association urge the public and government institutions to be vigilant against these unscrupulous figures, who seek to exploit the current economic landscape following the removal of fuel subsidies. The Union reaffirms its support for recognized associations in the industry and urges all stakeholders to reject these miscreants and their deceptive practices.

The open letter below:

The attention of the leadership of our great Union has been drawn to some advertisements on news media of some unscrupulous and dangerous individuals claiming to be members of one amorphous association they claim is both Transporters and Marketers of the Oil and Gas at the same time, and we wish to state that this association is nothing but assemblage of failed Rent Seekers in the Subsidy Regime and Irredeemable Smugglers of Petroleum Products disguising as businessmen and women.

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The general public and government institutions are hereby warned and strongly . advised to be very wary of these individuals who are desperately seeking ways and means to continue to exploit Nigerians and collecting rents in other manners since the current administration removed subsidy from petroleum products and make
smuggling unprofitable for them.

 

The leadership of our great Union recognizes National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) as the legitimate umbrella body of Transporters in the Nigeria Oil and Gas Industry and Employers of Petroleum Tankers Drivers (PTD) of which our Union has Collective Bargaining Agreement with on behalf of Petroleum Tankers Drivers.

We also recognize Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Major Energy Marketers Association of Nigeria (MEMAN) as well as Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) as legitimate marketers of Oil and Gas products. These are associations of Marketers that are well known and respected in the downstream sector of the Nigeria oil and gas industry.

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There is also no ambiguity in the fact that the Nigeria Labour laws only recognize Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) as the umbrella bodies
for oil and gas Workers in Nigeria. These are the two organizations that represent and protect the job interests of the Nigeria oil and gas workers including Petroleum lanker Drivers (PTD) as prescribed in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Niger
AFFILIATED TO THE NIGERIA LABOUR CONGRESS (NLC) & Industrial Global Union
Ref:
SUPPORT OUR DREAM

GAS WORKERS

We implore all well-meaning Nigerians and government officials whose names these Usurpers and Rent Seekers are dropping to urgently disregard any invitation from them and publicly denounce them because they are purely mischief-makers, names Droppers and unscrupulous business individuals that can sell their families and country for money and are unfortunately part of those that plunge the country into the current economic woes and hardship that the country is currently battling and struggling with. Following numerous failed attempts to coerce our Union into collecting money for them at various petroleum depots, they have now resorted to these names-calling and cheap blackmail to further their insidious rent-seeking schemes.

READ  JUST IN: Three killed as helicopter crashes in Port Harcourt

Our Solidarity remains Constant for the Union makes us strong!!!

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Finally, Joseph Wayas, ex-senate president, to be buried November 30 — three years after his death

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November 30 has been fixed for the burial of former Senate President Joseph Wayas, who died three years ago.

 

Wayas, who served as senate president from October 1, 1979, to December 31, 1983, died on November 30, 2021, at a London hospital after a protracted illness. He was 80 years old.

 

On July 10, his remains arrived in Nigeria after several controversies that followed the repatriation of his corpse.

 

Speaking on Thursday at a press briefing in Calabar, the capital of Cross River, Dorn-Cklaimz Enamhe, secretary of the central planning committee for Wayas’ burial, thanked Bassey Otu, governor of the state, and other individuals for repatriating Wayas’ body.

 

Enamhe noted that the committee, in collaboration with other authorities in Nigeria and the Nigerian High Commission in the United Kingdom (UK), worked together to ascertain the authenticity of the body.

 

He also appreciated the media for constantly reminding the nation that the body of the former senate president was yet to be buried.

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“Unfortunately, the body has been kept this long due to issues and disagreement among members of his family,” he said.

 

“We had to wait for these issues to be resolved, and as of today, they have been resolved; that is why we are going ahead with the burial.”

 

Nsa Gil, the chief press secretary to the governor of Cross River, added that the funeral would be held at the UJ Esuene Stadium in Calabar and later at the deceased’s hometown in Bassang, Obanliku LGA.

 

Senate President Godswill Akpabio and many other dignitaries are expected to attend the burial.

 

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