At least three people died when a helicopter crashed in Nigeria on Thursday while en route to an offshore oil production facility.
The state-owned oil firm NNPC confirmed the tragic incident.
The helicopter, operated by East Winds Aviation, lost contact while flying from Port Harcourt to the Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) Antan oil production facility.
NNPC said the aircraft was carrying eight people: six passengers and two crew members.
Search and rescue operations were immediately launched, and aviation authorities initiated an investigation into the cause of the crash.
NNPC spokesperson Olufemi Soneye stated that efforts were underway to locate any survivors and determine the circumstances surrounding the incident.
Nigeria’s aviation ministry confirmed that the Sikorsky SK76 helicopter “ditched into the waters near Bonny Finima in the Atlantic Ocean.”
Despite no emergency locator transmitter signal being received, manual efforts were being carried out to pinpoint the crash site.
The ministry deployed all available resources, including the military and low-flying aircraft, to assist in locating survivors and conducting rescue operations.
Nigeria, the most populous nation in Africa, has historically faced challenges with air safety. However, significant improvements in safety standards have been observed in recent years.