BREAKING: NAF helicopter crashes in top northern state, details emerge

The Nigerian Air Force has disclosed that its MI-171 Helicopter that was on a casualty evacuation mission crashed on Monday, August 14.

In a statement sent to Legit.ng and signed by Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet, the director of public relations and information for the Nigerian Air Force, the aircraft crashed at about 1 pm near Chukuba Village in Niger State.

According to the statement, the aircraft left Zungeru Primary School in Kaduna State, but it was soon disclosed that it had crashed near the Chukuba villa in the Shiroro local government area of Niger State.

How NAF helicopter crashes in Minna

The NAF authority added that efforts are ongoing to rescue passengers and crew on board the helicopter, adding that preliminary investigations have begun in order to unveil the cause of the crash.

However, the statement did not reveal the number of crews and passengers, while the number of casualties was yet to be known as of the time of writing this report.

On February 22, 2021, seven personnel of NAF died in a plane crash while on their way from Abuja to Minna, the Niger State capital.

The accident happened shortly after their plane took off from the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.