Updated: NAF aircraft crashes in Kaduna, kills seven

A Donnier 228 helicopter belonging to the Nigerian Air Force crashed at the old Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna, on Saturday. It was gathered that the aircraft, with call sign NAF030, which took off from the NAF base in Kaduna, was heading for Abuja when it came down in the early hours of the day. It was learnt that the aircraft crashed into the Officers’ Quarters at the Ribadu Military Cantonment in Kaduna, igniting fears that the casualty figure might be high. The Director of Public Relations and Information of the NAF, Air Commodore Dele Alonge, confirmed the crash to our correspondent on the telephone but did not give details. A statement he issued later read, “Though no casualty was recorded on the ground, there were no survivors among those aboard the aircraft. “The aircraft was Abuja- bound and had taken-off at about 6.45am from the Kaduna Military Airfield before the crash. Bodies of the passengers have been recovered and firefighters are already at the crash site to curtail fire from spreading to other buildings within the vicinity. “The Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, has aborted his official trip to Port Harcourt to visit the site of the air crash and families of some of the deceased personnel in company with the Air Officer, Commanding Training Command, Air Vice Marshal Alikali Mamu. “The CAS has also set up an investigation panel headed by an air vice marshal to unravel the cause of the accident with immediate effect.” It was gathered that those who died in the crash were a captain, a co-pilot, a board technician and four passengers. When our correspondent visited the barracks on Saturday, combat-ready soldiers cordoned off the area, preventing movements in and around the barracks. Meanwhile, the Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el- Rufai, has commiserated with the families of those killed the plane crash. El-Rufai, in a statement by his Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Samuel Aruwan, said he received the news of the crash with shock. The governor also condoled with the Chief of Air Staff, the officers and men of the Nigerian Air Force over the crash. [Source: Punch ]