Recovery efforts are continuing at the site of the military aircraft crash in Igbokoda, Ondo State, with the difficult swampy terrain hampering attempts to remove the wreckage and recover victims.

The Ondo State Commissioner of Police, Felix Ohagwu, disclosed this on Tuesday during an assessment visit to the crash site in the Ilaje Local Government Area.

The aircraft, reportedly operated by the Nigerian Air Force, crashed in the community on Monday. The incident involved 32 people, according to reports, while the state governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, had earlier said no survivor had been found.

Ohagwu said the location of the crash, surrounded by creeks and mangroves, had made access and recovery operations particularly challenging.

He explained that he had to use a canoe to reach the area for an on-the-spot assessment, while police personnel and other responders remained at the site to support the recovery operation.

“What happened yesterday was quite unfortunate. It’s a very difficult terrain, the creeks, mangroves, assessing the site of the crash was not easy. I had to use a smaller boat, a canoe, to assess it,” the commissioner said.

Ohagwu added that both aircraft components and human remains were yet to be fully recovered as the operation continued.

“My men are sitting on the ground, trying to recover the wreckage. Both human parts and plane parts have not been recovered since yesterday. They are still on the ground; we are on top of it,” he said.

The police commissioner also confirmed that no survivor had been located during the search, saying responders had encountered body parts and clothing scattered around the crash area.

“There are no survivors yet. We are yet to see any survivors. No survivors yet,” he said.

According to him, the condition of the crash site had made it necessary for rescue agencies to deploy heavier equipment to retrieve the remaining aircraft wreckage from the water.

“We are still expecting a bigger machine to be able to pull the wreckage from the water. We have to pull it,” Ohagwu said, adding that the police were awaiting assistance from the National Emergency Management Agency and other relevant agencies.

He stressed that the circumstances surrounding the crash would be determined by the appropriate investigative authorities, saying he would not draw conclusions before the investigation was completed.

The recovery operation is expected to continue as emergency agencies work to evacuate the remaining wreckage and account for the victims. (The Sun)

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