Search team finds one body from crashed helicopter
By Wole Shadare and Adeyemi Adepetun
AFTER an intensive search yesterday, rescue workers recovered an unidentified body of one of the victims of the Pan African Airlines (PANA) helicopter, which crashed into the Atlantic Ocean on Monday.
The wreckage of the helicopter is however yet to be found by the team, which has deployed sophisticated equipment to the scene of the accident. The mishap is being investigated by the Accident Investigation and Prevention Bureau of the Ministry of Aviation.
The helicopter which, according to ChevronTexaco, was on a medical evacuation mission, crashed in the early hours of Monday, killing the pilot, his co-pilot, employees of the airline, the injured rig worker and a medical personnel of Transocean.
In a statement, Mr. Sola Omole, General Manager, (Government and Public Affairs) of ChevronTexaco, on behalf of Star Ultra Deep, an affiliate of the American oil firm, confirmed that a body had been recovered while "intensive search and rescue operation is still going on to try to locate any survivors."
A source close to the search team, which also confirmed that a yet-to-be identified body was recovered, said that the rescue operation was made difficult because the helicopter crashed into the deep waters.
The official added that sophisticated equipment were used to scan the ocean floor to locate the helicopter but limited success was recorded.
The aircraft, Omole explained, crashed shortly after it took off from the Sedco Energy rig working at the company's deepwater Nsiko field, located in the Oil Mining Licence (OML) 249.
The statement read: "Star Ultra Deep, a ChevronTexaco affiliate, regrets to confirm the crash of the helicopter it declared missing yesterday (Monday). At the time of this statement, one body has been recovered. An intensive search and rescue operation is still going on to try to locate any survivors.
"The helicopter, on a medical evacuation mission, crashed in the early hours of Monday morning shortly after take-off from the Sedco Energy rig working at the company's deepwater Nsiko field, located in OML 249. Those on board were the pilot and his co-pilot, employees of Pan African Airline; as well as the injured rig worker and a medical personnel who worked for Transocean, operators of the Sedco Energy Rig.
"We are saddened by this tragic incident and we offer our deepest sympathies to the family of the deceased worker. Our thoughts are also with the staff and management of Pan African Airlines and Transocean as they try to come to terms with these events," said Mr. Jay Pryor, Managing Director, ChevronTexaco's Nigeria Mid-Africa Business Unit. He added that "the incident underscores why all of us in the oil industry - both producers and service companies - must continue to work together to strive for zero incident in our operations."
