The Ondo State Government has deployed swamp buggies to aid the recovery of the Nigerian Air Force aircraft that crashed in Igbokoda, Ilaje Local Government Area of the state.
The state Commissioner for Health, Banji Ajaka, disclosed this on Tuesday while addressing journalists at the crash site, explaining that the wreckage had sunk deep into the swamp, making access difficult for rescuers.
Ajaka said the aircraft came down about 500 metres east of the Nigerian Naval Base in Igbokoda after the pilots diverted it away from the populated area.
He said the decision by the pilots to steer the aircraft away from the community potentially prevented a more devastating incident.
“Let’s start with a real story. It’s not news for the whole country that aircrafts are carrying about 32 persons. 25 passengers and 7 crew members making 32. That’s a serious situation.
“That’s a fact. It must be verified. This is a verified fact. So, crash landed and dived into the forest close to the Naval base. About 500 meters east of the Naval base. And I think from the eye witness, the thing would have caused a terrible accident in the whole of the Igbokoda community.
“But for the bravery of the pilots, they diverted the thing away from the community. So that it landed in the forest close to the community.”
The commissioner said search and rescue activities had been ongoing since Monday, with the state government, security agencies, local authorities and other emergency responders participating in the operation.
“So, since that yesterday, the search and rescue operation is going on. We joined, you know, the CO of the forward operation base in Igbokoda and we’ve been on rescue operations.
“The state government deployed, you know, the entire Ministry of Health. Since yesterday, I’m representing the chairman of the local government, the officers of the local government agencies, SEMA, the environmental, you know, safety officers, and everybody. You know, we’ve been at the scene since yesterday.”
Ajaka said conventional rescue equipment, including boats and vehicles, could not access the difficult terrain, necessitating the deployment of swamp buggies.
“The latest is that the swamp buggy has been deployed. Has been ordered to go there. Because that’s what’s needed now. The swamp buggys, you can see two of them here now.
“It’s not an easy thing. It’s not something that you can… It’s not just a vehicle that will go. Or a speedboat that will just go.
“You can see. And this one comes with a low bed. I brought it. This one, I have to bring all of this. To float and swim down to the other side. So that they will get to the depth of where the body of the aircraft is.”
He explained that the impact of the crash caused the aircraft to sink considerably into the swamp.
“It has gone down. You know the force now. The weight and the force with which it went down.
“So, that is what we’re doing now. There is no delay. We are doing… We are deploying as fast as possible.”
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The commissioner said the state Commissioner for Environment and senior military officials were also at the scene, working alongside naval and Air Force officers to coordinate the recovery efforts.
“You can see the Honorable Commissioner of Environment is here too. You know. Having deployed, you know, the swamp bogey.
“We are all coordinating the activities with the CO Forward Naval Operation Base. You can also see that the CO Western Naval Command has just come. And the operation officers the air force.
“You know. Two star generals. Two of them. They were around. And we went to the site. You know.”
According to Ajaka, divers had entered the crash area and were already recovering portions of the aircraft, although the main wreckage remained buried beneath the swamp.
“We see rescue. The divers are doing their work. We are bringing wrecks out.
“For the body. The real body. This has to go down. Excavate deep down for the thing to be brought down.
“We have not seen a major body. We have not seen. By the time we bring the body out, we will be able to see the corpses.”
He described the incident as tragic and extended his condolences to the Nigerian Air Force, the wider Armed Forces, the victims’ families and residents of Ondo State.
“So it’s a sad situation. We commiserate with Nigerian Air Force. We commiserate. We commiserate with all Nigerians. We commiserate with the entire armed forces.
“And the people of our state. And the thing that happened in our state. We pray that God will not allow this kind of thing to happen in our country anymore.”
Ajaka assured that efforts to recover the aircraft and victims would continue.
The aircraft, which was carrying 25 passengers and seven crew members, crashed into a swampy area in Igbokoda on Monday, October 5, 2026, while on a routine flight from Benin City, Edo State, to Lagos.
Air traffic controllers reportedly lost contact with the aircraft at about 9:13am.
Following the incident, President Bola Tinubu expressed condolences to the victims’ families and directed the Nigerian Air Force to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the cause of the crash.