According to a previous report by Naija News, the event happened on Monday at around 1:00 pm when the plane was in route from Kaduna to Minna, the capital of the Niger state.
The aircraft was on a mission to evacuate casualties when it crashed, according to a statement from the Nigerian Air Force’s (NAF) Director of Public Relations and Information, Edward Gabkwet.
He claimed that the plane had taken off from Zungeru Primary School with the intention of flying to Kaduna but was subsequently found to have crashed close to Chukuba Village in Niger state.
While preliminary investigations have started to ascertain the likely cause of the crash, Gabkwet said efforts are still being made to recover the helicopter’s crew and passengers.
A MI-171 helicopter belonging to the Nigerian Air Force that was on a mission to evacuate casualties crashed today, August 14, 2023, at around 1:00 pm in Chukuba Village, Niger State, according to the statement.The plane had left Zungeru Primary School for Kaduna, but it was later found to have crashed close to Chukuba Village in Niger State’s Shiroro Local Government Area.
While preliminary investigations have started to identify the likely reason of the crash, efforts are still being made to recover the helicopter’s crew and passengers.
Recall that on February 22, 2021, a jet carrying seven NAF troops that was traveling from Abuja to Minna, the capital of Niger State, crashed shortly after taking off from Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport in Abuja.