The six employees of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) who died in a helicopter crash on Thursday have been identified.
According to reports, the helicopter was operated by East Winds Aviation and was carrying contract staff to the FPSO-NUIMS ANTAN facility when it crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near Bonny Finima, close to Port Harcourt.
Punch identified the victims as Tamunoemi Suku, Alu Lawrence, Etim Emmanuel, Kenneth Chikwem, Frank Oriamre, and Borris Ndorbo. The pilot, Captain Yakubu Dukas, was an experienced aviator and served as vice president of the National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers. The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) also identified Ndorbo as a branch chairman and Lawrence as a member of the union.
On Friday, President Bola Tinubu expressed his condolences to the families of the victims and urged authorities to strengthen search efforts. In response, the National Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) enlisted help from Cameroonian and Equatorial Guinean authorities to locate the remaining missing bodies. Five bodies have been recovered so far, with the search ongoing for the last three.
