“National Tragedy” — 32 Perish as NAF ATR-42 Transport Aircraft Crashes in Ondo Swamp En Route to Lagos

Tragedy has struck the Nigerian Armed Forces after a Nigerian Air Force (NAF) ATR-42 transport aircraft carrying 32 people—including military personnel, crew members, and their family members—crashed into a swamp near the Naval Base in Igbokoda, Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State.

The ill-fated aircraft, with registration number NGR 931, was on a routine logistics flight from Benin City to Lagos on Monday morning when air traffic controllers lost contact at approximately 9:13 a.m. The manifest carried 25 passengers and seven crew members, including service members and civilian dependents—among them school-bound children and relatives returning from visits to personnel stationed in Edo and Delta states.

Eyewitnesses in the coastal community reported seeing the turboprop aircraft struggling to maneuver before descending into the dense marshlands, where emergency responders, naval officers, and local residents encountered extensive wreckage and submerged debris.
“No fewer than 32 persons, including family members of military personnel and crew, died as the ATR-42 plane crashed into a swamp... The difficulty in releasing the names of the passengers from military authorities stemmed from the fact that civilian family members were onboard, with efforts ongoing to reach out to them first.”
> — Reporting via Vanguard News / Premium Times
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Following briefings from Minister of Aviation Festus Keyamo and Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu expressed deep sorrow over the loss of life, offering heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families and directing the NAF to immediately launch a formal investigation into the technical failure behind the crash.

Ondo State Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa visited the surrounding search area, ordering full logistical support for joint search-and-recovery operations as military authorities work to notify affected famil

ies before publicly releasing the flight manifest.
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