Two More Bodies Recovered, Survivors Moved to St Nicholas Hospital: Helicopter Crash

Nearly 20 hours after the ill-fated Bristow helicopter crashed into the Lagos lagoon bordering the Oworonsoki suburb, the remaining bodies of two passengers, who were not found on Wednesday, were recovered on Thursday by a rescue team.

The recovery of the two passengers has brought to six the total number of persons who died after the helicopter nosedived into the lagoon on Wednesday afternoon.

Among the deceased persons were the two members of the crew (both pilots) of Bristow Helicopters – Captain Joseph Wyatt and First Officer Peter Bello.

While the captain, fondly called Jay, hailed from Oklahoma in the United States of America, and had flown for years for the company, Bello, a young Nigerian, only joined Bristow Helicopters last year.

Bello was said to have been employed by the company after graduating from Bristow academy’s helicopter flight school.

Confirming the body count, the South-west Zonal spokesperson of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Ibrahim Farinloye, said with the two bodies recovered yesterday, the rescue operation had been wound up.
“The last two trapped bodies of the helicopter crash victims have been recovered. With that, we have rounded off our operations in the lagoon,” he said.

However, the six survivors, who were initially taken to the Gbagada General Hospital and Afolabi Health Centre at Oworonsoki after the crash, have been transferred to St. Nicholas Hospital on Lagos Island.

The survivors are Solomon Udeh, Joshua Emekeme, Iniala Opaimi, Dolu Ebiejuara, Chukwudi Onah and Onara Onoriode-Ojiete.

A visit to the Burns Unit of the Gbagada General Hospital revealed that the survivors were transferred yesterday morning after they had been stabilised.

A further visit to St. Nicholas Hospital also confirmed that they had all been admitted and were on the third floor of the hospital. A close glance at the visitors' register on the counter at the reception, however showed that the duo of Solomon Udeh and Joshua Emekeme received visitors at about 1 pm yesterday.

When contacted, one of the visitors, who did not want to be identified, revealed that Emekeme was recovering.

The visitor said: “I can tell you that Joshua is doing just fine. I was able to see him today and I can assure you that he is receiving treatment.” When urged to reveal what Emekeme may have divulged as the cause of the crash, he said: “What happened is not what I can explain now because Joshua was not able to tell me that. We are more focused on his recovery.”

Meanwhile, THISDAY checks revealed that the casualty rate might not be unconnected with the fact that the ill-fated helicopter allegedly did not have the locator beacons as stipulated for both maritime and air transport services.

This was because without the locator beacon, the rescue team was forced to operate blindly without knowing the exact spot the helicopter crashed, thus purportedly reducing the chances of the passengers’ survival.

The lack of beacon was confirmed by Farinloye, who told THISDAY that when they called the Nigerian Mission Control Centre (NIMCC) to confirm the distress signal, they could not.

He said neither NEMA nor the centre received any distress alert from the helicopter after it nosedived into the lagoon, but they got one from a distressed ship in Delta State and help was sent there.

Farinloye said all maritime, land and air transport services are by law required to install the beacon in their planes, ships and cars.

The beacon, a hi-tech satellite-based equipment made in Russia, the US and Canada, is for search and rescue purposes and responding to distressed vessels or aircraft.

He explained: “The equipment sends out signals or distress calls to those holding the beacon which would indicate the place of the incident, the phone number and address of the owner of the aircraft, vehicle or vessel, enhancing the capacity of the rescue team to search for the crash site within a radius of 25 square metres.

“This is designed in such a way that immediately there is a distress situation, the equipment sends out signals which are intercepted at NEMA headquarters. The headquarters would then alert the necessary local emergency stakeholders immediately.

“The system has dual purposes, for aviation, maritime and land user services and so water craft operators can install the beacons and in case of distressed situation, the beacon can be activated, which will send a signal within few seconds.”

An email sent to one Julie King, the external communications officer of Bristow Group, to confirm or debunk the allegation received no response.

NEMA yesterday also said it was still searching for the black box of the ill-fated chopper.

Farinloye told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that the agency’s rescue team was still searching for the black box of the crashed aircraft.
Also, the Bristow Group yesterday promised to assist the survivors and families of the dead victims of its crashed chopper.

The Bristow Regional Director for Africa, Duncan Moore, said this in a statement in Lagos.

“Our thoughts are with those affected by the unfortunate accident.
“We regret the loss of lives in the air crash and we are ready to assist them with our full resources.

“Our highest priority is to take care of our crew and clients and their family members and provide them with any assistance needed.

“Our personnel are currently working to confirm the number of people on board, their identities and the extent of any injury,” he said.