BREAKING: Nigerian Air Force jet crashes in Niger

On Monday, it was reported that an aircraft owned by the Nigerian Air Force has experienced a crash. According to sources, the incident took place while the aircraft was in transit from Kaduna to Minna, the capital of Niger state.

The occurrence was officially confirmed in a statement released on Monday by Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet, the NAF Director of Public Relations and Information. The statement explained that the aircraft initially took off from Zungeru Primary School and was heading to Kaduna before it was later discovered to have crashed within a village situated in the Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger state.

The statement excerpted, “A Nigerian Air Force MI-171 Helicopter, engaged in a casualty evacuation operation, encountered a crash today, August 14, 2023, around 1:00 pm in Chukuba Village, Niger State.”

Further elaborating, it revealed, “The aircraft had taken off from Zungeru Primary School en route to Kaduna but was subsequently located as having crashed near Chukuba Village within the Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State.”

Gabkwet shared that ongoing efforts are being made to successfully rescue both the crew members and passengers who were aboard the helicopter during the incident. Furthermore, preliminary investigations have been initiated to establish the potential cause of the crash, as highlighted in the statement.