Boy Adam: Nigerian Jailed in London
By Moses Jolayemi with agency reports
US oil major, Chevron-Texaco yesterday said a helicopter on a medical mission from one of its deepwater oil locations in the Niger Delta was missing more than 24 hours after it took off on a rescue mission in the area. The aircraft was carrying four persons.
Company sources, however, hinted yesterday that the helicopter belonging to Pan African Airline, might have crashed and feared that the four persons, including three Nigerians and one American, on board the chopper, might have been killed.
Chevron, in a press statement signed by the company's General Manager, Government & Public Affairs, Mr. Sola Omole, said the helicopter had taken off from a drilling rig working for its affiliate Star Ultra Deep, at the Nsiko field located in OPL 249.
It said the helicopter was mobilized at about midnight yesterday to evacuate an injured rig worker to Port Harcourt, Rivers State, for medical attention.
"Contact with the helicopter was lost at 2:30 am today (yesterday), five minutes after it took off from a drilling rig.
"The company has mobilized a search-and-rescue mission involving five boats, three helicopters and a fixed wing aircraft to examine the flight path of the missing helicopter. The mission is on-going and more resources will be deployed if needed," it added.
The American was the pilot of the helicopter while the co-pilot was Nigerian. The others on board were the injured oil rig worker and a medical personnel, working for Transocean, operators of the Sedco Energy rig.
Chevron said it had already alerted all relevant Nigerian government and security agencies as well as the American Embassy. The immediate families of those in the missing helicopter have also been notified, it stated.
The Managing Director of ChevronTexaco's Nigerian Mid-Africa Business Unit, Mr. Jay Pryor, expressed the hope that the missing chopper would be found soon. "Our hearts go out to the families of those on board the helicopter. Our company will spare no efforts and resources in assisting our service companies to locate their employees on the missing helicopter," he said.
Investigations yesterday revealed that the Search and Rescue team of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) has already swung into action.
The team which reportedly left Lagos for the Niger Delta area soon after the crash was known has already found patches of aviation fuel on the sea, which may have given a clue as to the actual spot of the crash.
Although no formal confirmation came from the Ministry of Aviation on the crash as required by law, the incident dominated discussions at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos yesterday.
The air crash was the second mishap to befall Chevron-Texaco, Nigeria's third biggest crude oil producer, in its operations in the Niger Delta.
Last April, seven persons including four oil workers and three naval personnel, were killed when suspected pirates ambushed and opened fire on them on the Benin River while on their way to repair a Chevron facility.
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