Ondo Community Calls for Quick Cleanup After Plane Crash Stench

Large parts of the military plane that went down in the Ondo River have been retrieved as recovery work continues at the crash site.

The king of Igbokoda in Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State, Oba Afolabi Odidiomo, has called on the Federal and state governments to speed up efforts to find the remains of those who died in the Nigerian Air Force aircraft crash in the community.

PUNCH Online reported that a NAF ATR-42 aircraft crashed in the area last Monday, with at least 25 people on board. Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, said there were no confirmed survivors, and recovery operations are still going on.

In a phone conversation with our correspondent, Odidiomo said residents have been dealing with a terrible smell since the crash. He believes it is due to human remains that have not yet been recovered from the river.

He also expressed worries about aviation fuel spilling into the environment, which he said has contaminated the area.

He said, “The odour is extremely offensive. So many parts of the human body are floating around in the river. Some of the bodies have not been recovered. They have decomposed, and it is affecting everything.”

The king noted that the pollution has made it hard for residents to access clean water, making it tough for them to get enough for daily needs, including cooking.

He added that signs of spilled aviation fuel could be seen on the river a distance from the crash site.

Odidiomo urged the governments to speed up the recovery of the remaining bodies and aircraft parts and start an urgent cleanup of the environment.

In response, the Ondo State Commissioner for Environment, Tob Loko, said the state government is working with the Federal Government to handle the situation.

He said the state sent a team to the community right after the crash to check the environmental impact and assist in recovery efforts.

Loko said, “Shortly after the plane crash occurred, the state government sent a delegation to the place for an on-the-spot assessment of the impact of the crash on the environment. Many people were there to assist in the recovery efforts. I think that is still ongoing.

“What we are trying to do is support the Federal Government because it is not entirely an effort to be undertaken by the state government. The state government is collaborating with the Federal Government to ensure that we carry out as much recovery as possible.”

The commissioner mentioned that no bodies have been recovered even after days of searching, adding that the government is looking into the pollution and its possible effects on public health.

He said, “Shortly afterwards, concerns about pollution were raised. What we are trying to do is make a heuristic assessment of the level of public health impact and determine how we can start decontamination efforts because the surrounding area is surely contaminated.

“So, there is a case of pollution, but we are not resting on our oars. As I have said, we are carefully undertaking thorough assessments of the environmental impact and the public health impact of what has happened there to ensure that we address it as quickly as possible.