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An aircraft belonging to the Nigerian Air Force has crashed in Minna, the capital of Niger State, according to a reports.
Initial report said the aircraft took off from Kaduna en-route to Minna, the Niger State capital when the incident occurred.
But a statement on Monday by the NAF Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet, said the aircraft actually departed Zungeru Primary School in Niger State en-route Kaduna but was later discovered to have crashed in a village in Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State.
The Air Force said the aircraft was on a casualty evacuation mission when the crash happened.
The state partly read, “A Nigerian Air Force MI-171 Helicopter on a casualty evacuation mission crashed today, August 14, 2023, at about 1.1.00 pm Chukuba Village in Niger State
“The aircraft had departed Zungeru Primary School en route Kaduna but was later discovered to have crashed near Chukuba Village in Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State.”
The casualty figure is not yet known as at the time of filing this report.
But Gabkwet said efforts are ongoing to rescue the pilots and passengers on board.
“Efforts are currently ongoing to rescue the crew and passengers on board the helicopter, while preliminary investigations have commenced to determine the probable cause of the crash,” the statement added.
Details shortly …