The identities of the six Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited employees who perished in a helicopter crash on Thursday have been revealed.
Dockaysworld reports that the incident occurred as the helicopter, operated by East Winds Aviation, was transporting contract staff to the FPSO-NUIMS ANTAN facility before crashing into the Atlantic Ocean off Bonny Finima’s coast near Port Harcourt.
Punch reports that those identified are Tamunoemi Suku, Alu Lawrence, Etim Emmanuel, Kenneth Chikwem, Frank Oriamre, and Borris Ndorbo.
The pilot, Captain Yakubu Dukas, was a seasoned aviator and served as vice president of the National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers.
The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers also identified two victims.
In a statement on Friday, NUPENG said the men were frontline members of the union. They were a branch chairman of NUPENG, Ndorbo, and a member, Alu.
Following the incident, President Bola Tinubu extended his condolences to the victims’ families and directed authorities to intensify search efforts.
In response, the National Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) has enlisted support from Cameroonian and Equatorial Guinean authorities to locate the remaining missing bodies.
Five victims have been recovered, while efforts to locate the last three are ongoing.
