A Nigerian Navy Agusta reconnaissance helicopter marked 06 with three naval officers and one rating on board crashed in the swamps of Mmiri Ochiochi in Obodo Isiokpo in Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State yesterday, killing all the people on board.
The helicopter was heading to Lagos from Port Harcourt.The mangled bodies have been pulled out at the crash site opposite Government Secondary School, Isiokpo.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, the helicopter went down near Port Harcourt International Airport while searching for a ship that supposedly ran aground in the region.
A naval spokesman Commodore David Nabaida confirmed the crash, adding that it took place in the troubled Niger Delta region of that country, but said he was far from being sure it was perpetrated by terrorists. Militants and oil thieves have attacked pipelines and security forces in the oil-rich Niger Delta region but have not shot down a plane.
