Ondo State Officials Discuss Challenges in Plane Crash Rescue Efforts

The Ondo State Commissioner for Environment, Tob Loko, has shared details about the crashed ATR-42 aircraft. He explained the challenges in recovering the bodies from the swamp after the accident.

The plane went down on Monday at Igbokoda, the main town in Ilaje Local Government Area of the state.

While speaking to reporters in Igbokoda on Tuesday, Mr Loko said the plane nosedived into the water and broke into two pieces.

He mentioned that the aircraft sank to the bottom of the river. Because of how the crash happened, local divers have struggled to locate it properly. “Honestly I’ve gone to the place, and I discovered that there were wreckage everywhere,” he said.

“I saw the divers trying to see where the plane is but they were finding it extremely difficult, but when I was leaving, one of them said he was able to spot it, so they could only bring out parts.”

Mr Loko added, “We felt that was the particular spot of the wreckage and we were there with little boat that could not bring it out, so we felt we have to make heavier deployment.”

He stated that all relevant agencies and ministries have been directed to go to Igbokoda to help with the rescue operation. The commissioner noted that floating excavators have been sent to help lift the aircraft from the bottom of the water.

He explained that the plan is for the divers to go underwater, tie the aircraft wreckage to the crane of the excavator, and then lift it out of the water. Mr Loko pointed out that using smaller boats has not achieved much.

“By the time we deploy the swamp buggies, we will be able to pull it out and see how much rescue we are able to do. In a few minutes from now, we should be able to deploy it to the forest. The place is not as close as people think, it’s at least 500m from Igbokoda.”

He continued, “By the time we took these buggies, we will be able to make rescue and only then can we ascertain whether there are survivors or not.”

Meanwhile, the Commissioner for Works, Ayoronde Olawoye, also expressed sadness over the crash. He noted that getting clear information about the crash would be hard.

He said that meaningful work could be done within five hours once the floating excavators are in the water. “The state government has deployed all the machinery to this area, the swamp buggies and some equipment that can assist to bring out the plane. You can see that the swamp buggy is set to float on the water and to go to where it happened. Within five hours, a reasonable thing will be done,” he explained.

“Nobody can give specific information now until we get to the scene with the machines. So any information now will be on assumption.”

The floating excavators faced challenges as operators struggled for hours to attach floating tanks to the sides of one of the excavators. There are concerns that as night falls, rescue efforts may become even more difficult.