Nine days after the disaster, a new worry is growing in Igbokoda, in Ondo State, southwestern Nigeria. Residents fear their drinking water may be contaminated. The air force plane that crashed on October 5 went down in a swamp connected to the river that supplies the town.
The aircraft, an ATR-42 registered NAF 931, was carrying air force personnel on a special mission from Benin City to Lagos. It went down near a naval base with 25 people on board, none of whom survived. Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo initially said 32 people were on board, before the air force settled on 25. It is one of the worst air disasters in recent years in Africa’s most populous country.
Residents’ concerns are not unfounded. During his visit to the site, Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa himself said aviation fuel was still leaking into the water around the crash area, raising fears of pollution. The main wreckage was still submerged at the time. Difficult terrain slowed recovery work, and the state had to deploy two specialised machines to open access routes into the swamp.
The governor also praised the pilot, who he said steered the plane away from the town before impact and prevented a far worse tragedy. President Bola Tinubu declared three days of national mourning and ordered a thorough investigation into the cause of the crash.
For the people of Igbokoda, headquarters of Ilaje, an oil-producing area already scarred by pollution, one question remains unanswered: is the water they drink still safe?