BY CHARLES KUMOLU & Kingsley Adegboye
ROWDY environment, thousands of people struggling to pass through narrow adjoining roads. People standing on the rooftop of buildings and thick smoke emanating from a burning aircraft welcomed Vanguard Features, VF, to the Iju scene of the crashed Dana Airline at 4:20 pm on June 3, 2012.
ROWDY environment, thousands of people struggling to pass through narrow adjoining roads. People standing on the rooftop of buildings and thick smoke emanating from a burning aircraft welcomed Vanguard Features, VF, to the Iju scene of the crashed Dana Airline at 4:20 pm on June 3, 2012.
Getting access from the Ile-Chelsea Bus Stop to the Toyin Street site of the crash, was like passing through the Biblical needle’s eye as thousands of people trooped to the scene causing unprecedented human and vehicular traffic. But for the thick darkening smoke coming from a certain direction, sympathizers would have had difficulties locating the building that the aircraft crashed into. Men of the Nigeria Police Force, NPF; Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC; Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria, FAN; were seen in the midst of the crowd.
Wings of the crashed plane
Having waded its way through the crowd, the VF team found its way to the top of a building to get a full view of the burning aircraft. That move revealed a large number of sympathisers assisting the few fire fighters who had only one tanker of water to extinguish the fire. Eyewitness accounts revealed that the crash occurred between 3pm and 4pm, when many residents were watching the Nigeria vs Namibia World Cup qualifying match. They claimed that some lives would have been saved had rescue operation started earlier.
Although some reports have disputed this assertion, VF authoritatively gathered that if help had come early, the more than 153 persons who perished aboard the Boeing MD-83 plane would have been saved. Those who spoke to VF claimed that the aircraft did not explode immediately it crashed. It did so after about 20 minutes.
How it happened - Eyewitness
Narrating how the crash happened, an eyewitness who pleaded anonymity, noted that the aircraft was swinging before it eventually landed on a newly constructed two-storey building.
He said: “I was here with my wife and other people when we saw the plane moving around in random directions.
“Initially we were confused, but when it was getting very close to the rooftop of the houses around, we stood up and traced were it eventually landed.When we got to the scene, we saw the plane on the building and it did not explode upon landing. Fire was only seen at the cockpit but it was not much. Only about ten of us got to the scene then. That little fire would have been put off if there was immediate emergency response from fire- fighters. We were even using sachets of pure water to put off the fire before we heard a loud explosion after about 20 minutes.”
It was further gathered that the absence of emergency response from concerned authorities, prompted one of the eyewitnesses at the scene to call the Chairperson of the Local Government, who informed the Lagos State Government.
Another eye witness said: “When we discovered that emergency rescue service was not on sight, my wife called the chairperson of the local government, who informed Fashola’s people. It was that call that alerted the authorities. But if the rescue service had arrived on time, they would have been saved because there was no fire when the plane landed on the buildings. The pilot of the aircraft was very brave because we noticed it from the way the aircraft was swinging before it crashed.”
What could have turned into another tragedy, occurred when the men of the Nigerian Army, upon arrival, started dispersing sympathisers violently with belts, planks and any object they could lay their hands on. Despite the anguish boldly written on the faces of sympathizers, some were seen carting away the remains of a cow which was killed by debris from the collapsed building.
Chaoticatmosphere
The chaotic atmosphere that pervaded the scene of the crash on the first day was absent, as security agencies cordoned off the environment. But that did not deter the crowd from milling round the site, while relatives of victims desperately tried to have access to the site to locate their missing ones. The Chairman of Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, LASEMA, Dr. Femi Oke, who was coordinating the rescue activities, told VF that no fewer than 60 charred remains were recovered from the scene.
He informed that DNA tests would be carried out on recovered bodies of those who died in the ill-fated crash to enable relatives identify their loved ones, adding: “We have been recovering bodies of the victims and so far we have about 68 dead bodies. We have deposited them at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LUTH, where DNA would later be carried out so that relatives can claim their loved ones after proper identification. Already we are evacuating the debris for proper clearing of the site. Every body is working at the moment, the Ogun State Emergency Service is also assisting us.”
Oke further disclosed that the affected buildings within the vicinity would be pulled down, adding that displaced residents would be relocated to Agbowa Relief Camp. He said: “After removing the debris, all the unstable buildings would be pulled down. The area would also be fumigated to avoid the outbreak of epidemic in the environment. The fumigation would be the last thing that we would do here. Already, Governor Fashola has instructed that we move all the displaced persons to Agbowa Relief Camp in Ikorodu, where they would be rehabilitated and reintegrated into the society.”
Dr. Oke said that out of the five residents who were affected by the crash and taken to LASUTH for treatment, four have been discharged and one is still receiving treatment.
Fashola takes custody of bereaved kids
Meanwhile,Governor Babatunde Fashola has taken into custody, three children whose parents were among victims of the crash. The children, aged between seven and 12, were taken over by the State after they lost their parents to the crash. VF gathered that the children named Esther, Chidom and Joel Okechukwu informed Fashola that they only know a relation of their deceased father. The man, Mr. Tony Okechukwu, is said to be residing in Abuja.
How PHCN saved my son -Survivor
For Emmanuel Shoyemi, the restoration of light by the Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN, was what saved his10-year old son from untimely death. Shoyemi who lives in the neighbourhood, said he returned from church service on the fateful Sunday afternoon, to realise that he needed to make a phone call to a relation. But he had no credit on his phone. He then called his son to go and buy a recharge card across the road. Just as the boy was stepping out of their premises, PHCN restored their light. Due to the erratic nature of power supply in the area, he called the boy back to come and iron his school uniform and that of his siblings instead of going for the recharge card. The moment the boy stepped into the sitting room, an unusual loud noise was heard within the neighbourhood.
Shoyemi said he hurriedly jumped out to find out what could have caused the unusual noise. It was at that point he discovered that the plane, in an attempt to land, had destroyed the mango tree in front of his house before hitting a building where it eventually crashed. Shoyemi who lost his wife two years ago after child birth, was full of praises to God for His intervention.
Also lucky to have cheated death was Mr. Daniel Odika, a water engineer with the British America Tobacco Company, BAT. Odika resided in the two-storey building that the plane rammed into. He said that five persons died in the building, but everybody in his ground flat survived, addng: “We are four in the flat and we occupy the ground floor, and all of us survived.” Okeke Kingsley, a flat mate of Odika added that he was watching the Eagles’match with his friends when they heard the explosion. He said he rushed into the toilet when he heard the sound of the explosion, adding that he escaped through the toilet. Okeke added that he called his younger sister from outside the building to find a way to escape and that his younger ones also escaped unhurt.
While the trio are thanking God for delivering members of their families from the fatal crash, the same cannot be said of friends and co-tenants of Mr. Godwin, a member of the crew who died in the crash. VF learnt from his co-tenant that he (Godwin) was not supposed to be on duty last Sunday but was drafted to replace a colleague who was indisposed and could not come to work. But fate played a fast one on him as he lost his life in the plane mishap.
