TheCable

An aircraft belonging  to the Nigerian Air Force crashed at Bama local government area of Borno State on Monday, killing two people.

Spokesman of the defence headquarters, Major-general Chris Olukolade, attributed the Mi-35 Helicopter crash, which happened when the aircraft was on a training session, to a technical fault.

The defence headquarters initially said investigations to unravel the circumstances that led to the accident were ongoing, but it was sure that the crash was not down to an attack from insurgents.

A pithy statement signed by Olukolade did not state if there were any casualties, save that “further details on the crash will be made known as the investigation progresses”.

But Olukolade subsequently confirmed that while one of the pilots of the crashed helicopter was recovered alive, two others — a second pilot and the technician on board — died.

“Rescue is still ongoing,” he said in yet another brief statement.

Despite the ongoing state of emergency in Borno, the state has been a hot spot of terrorist attacks; and last week, there were reports of the military launching air strikes against suspected Boko Haram militants during an attack.