Helicopter Crash: Three Persons Confirmed Dead

On Thursday, a Sikorsky SK76 helicopter operated by East Wind Aviation crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near Port Harcourt, Rivers State, killing three people confirmed to be employees of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation limited.

The military and National Emergency Management Agency immediately began a search operation for the passengers in the helicopter.

Nigeria's aviation ministry said in a statement that the Sikorsky SK76 helicopter "ditched into the waters near Bonny Finima in the Atlantic Ocean."
"While no emergency locator transmitter signal was received, manual efforts to plot the location of the accident are underway, and all available resources including the military and low-flying aircraft have been deployed to assist in locating and rescuing any survivors," said Odutayo Oluseyi, a spokesperson for the aviation ministry.

The helicopter operated by Eastwind Aviation lost contact while flying from Port Harcourt to the Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) Antan oil production facility, NNPC said in a statement.

The crashed helicopter had a total of right persons on board.