…as offensive stench envelopes area, spilled aviation fuel pollutes river
Monarch of Igbokoda in Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State, Oba Afolabi Odidiomo, has appealed to both the Federal and state governments to expedite action on the recovery of the remains of victims of a Nigerian Air Force aircraft which crashed in the community last week.
Recall that a NAF ATR-42 aircraft crashed in the community on Monday, last week, killing all the 25 people on board. Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, had said there were no confirmed survivors, while recovery operations were ongoing.
Oba Odidiomo told Punch correspondent on the phone that residents of the community had been battling an offensive odour since the crash, attributing it to decomposing human remains yet to be recovered from the river.
The monarch also expressed concerns about aviation fuel spillage, which he said had polluted the surrounding environment.
According to him, “The odour is extremely offensive. So many parts of the human body are floating around in the river. Some of the bodies have not been recovered. They have decomposed, and it is affecting everything.”
Oba Odidiomo said the pollution had affected residents’ access to clean water, as they now struggle to get enough for domestic needs, including cooking.
He further stated that traces of spilled aviation fuel could be seen on the river some distance from the crash site.
He appealed to the governments to accelerate the recovery of the remaining human remains and aircraft debris, as well as commence an urgent environmental clean-up.
On his part, the Ondo State Commissioner for Environment, Tob Loko, said the state government was collaborating with the Federal Government to address the situation.
Loko said the state had sent a delegation to the community shortly after the crash to assess its environmental impact and support recovery efforts.
He said, “Shortly after the plane crash occurred, the state government sent a delegation to the place for an on-the-spot assessment of the impact of the crash on the environment. Many people were there to assist in the recovery efforts. I think that is still ongoing.
“What we are trying to do is support the Federal Government because it is not entirely an effort to be undertaken by the state government. The state government is collaborating with the Federal Government to ensure that we carry out as much recovery as possible.”
According to the commissioner, none of the bodies had been recovered despite the days of search operations.
He added that the government was assessing the extent of the pollution and its potential public health effects.
Loko further stated, “Shortly afterwards, concerns about pollution were raised. What we are trying to do is make a heuristic assessment of the level of public health impact and determine how we can embark on decontamination efforts because the surrounding area is surely contaminated.
“So, there is a case of pollution, but we are not resting on our oars. As I have said, we are carefully undertaking holistic assessments of the environmental impact and the public health impact of what has happened there to ensure that we address it as quickly as possible.”
