The bodies of the Chief Executive Officer of Bacita Sugar Company, Mrs Josephine Kuteyi and two others who died in Osun State on Friday when their chartered helicopter crashed in the state have been recovered.
The two other persons on board the crashed helicopter, which took off from Lagos en route to Ilorin, were the expatriate pilot and Kuteyi’s personal assistant, Mrs. Adedoyin Ogunbanjo.
A contingent of law enforcement agents, officials of the National Emergency Management Authority, Osun State Emergency Management Authority, among others, Saturday stormed the site of the crash which lies between Ikonifin in Olaoluwa Local Government and Ife-Odan in Ejigbo Local Government Areas of the state to retrieve the bodies.
The state governor, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, expressed regrets over the accident and directed the recovery team to speed up action in fishing out the bodies.
The south-west zonal Coordinator of NEMA, Mr. Ishaya Isah Choloko, attributed the crash to poor visibility occasioned by bad weather.
Choloko, who put the crash point at over 2,500ft above sea level, quoted some residents of Ife-Odan as saying that it was difficult to see objects within a 100 metre range even at ground level on the day of the incident.
Choloko, who put the crash point at over 2,500ft above sea level, quoted some residents of Ife-Odan as saying that it was difficult to see objects within a 100 metre range even at ground level on the day of the incident.
Also, the managing director of the state emergency management agency, Mr. Segun Ajayi, said his agency got to know about the incident at approximately 6.00 pm on Friday, following which his men and others commenced a search for the location of the crashed helicopter.
According to him: “The search party was able to get to the site of the crash at about 1.00 am yesterday and was able to recover the remains of the deceased later in the morning.”
According to him: “The search party was able to get to the site of the crash at about 1.00 am yesterday and was able to recover the remains of the deceased later in the morning.”
He thanked residents of Ikonifin and Ife-Odan for their cooperation in helping to locate the site and in recovering the remains of the victims.
The remains of Kuteyi and her personal assistant were handed over to their families at about 2.00 pm at the Ife-Odan police station.
OAS Helicopters, the operator of the chartered flight, is expected to collect the pilot’s remains which were deposited at the Ladoke Akintola University Teaching Hospital, Osogbo.
The remains of Kuteyi and her personal assistant were handed over to their families at about 2.00 pm at the Ife-Odan police station.
OAS Helicopters, the operator of the chartered flight, is expected to collect the pilot’s remains which were deposited at the Ladoke Akintola University Teaching Hospital, Osogbo.
To facilitate the work of the recovery team, Aregbesola ordered the release of ambulances that were used to covey the bodies to the police station.
The governor commiserated with the families of the deceased, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority and the country over the incident.
Meanwhile, workers of the Bacita Sugar Company, Kwara State, have been thrown into mourning over the death of the owner and CEO of the company, Mrs. Kuteyi.
Meanwhile, workers of the Bacita Sugar Company, Kwara State, have been thrown into mourning over the death of the owner and CEO of the company, Mrs. Kuteyi.
Sources close to the company told newsmen in Ilorin yesterday that the CEO was said to have travelled to Lagos for an official assignment when she met her untimely death.
One of the workers who spoke on the condition of anonymity disclosed that the team to receive her on Friday was already at the Ilorin International Airport before hearing of the crash that took her life and two others.
Sources at the Ilorin International Airport also expressed surprise over Kuteyi's death, saying she was a regular face at the airport, as she always flew in and out either by chartered flight.
Sources at the Ilorin International Airport also expressed surprise over Kuteyi's death, saying she was a regular face at the airport, as she always flew in and out either by chartered flight.
One airport staff said she even saw the woman on Wednesday when she came aboard a chartered flight from Lagos.
Already, there are indications that investigators of the helicopter crash are trying to ascertain why the ill-fated pilot failed to communicate with the Ilorin control tower before the accident.
Already, there are indications that investigators of the helicopter crash are trying to ascertain why the ill-fated pilot failed to communicate with the Ilorin control tower before the accident.
Source:thisdaylive
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