When the tragic incident occurred on Monday, the ill-fated aircraft was said to be heading to Kaduna State.

Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet, the Force’s director of public relations and information, said in a statement that the aircraft had crashed in a village in the Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger.

It partly read, “A Nigerian Air Force MI-171 Helicopter on a casualty evacuation mission crashed today, August 14, 2023, at about  1:00 pm Chukuba Village in Niger State.

“The aircraft had departed Zungeru Primary School en route Kaduna but was later discovered to have crashed near Chukuba Village in Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State.”

Gabkwet said efforts are ongoing to rescue the pilots and passengers on board.

“Efforts are currently ongoing to rescue the crew and passengers on board the helicopter, while preliminary investigations have commenced to determine the probable cause of the crash,” the statement added.

The development comes exactly a month after a Nigerian Air Force FT-7NI trainer aircraft crashed in Makurdi, the Benue State capital.

Two pilots onboard the aircraft survived the crash.

“Luckily, the two pilots on board survived the crash after successfully ejecting from the aircraft. Additionally, there was no loss of lives or damage to any property around the area of impact.”

“Both pilots are currently under observation at NAF Base Hospital, Makurdi. Meanwhile, the Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal Hasan Abubakar, has constituted a Board of Inquiry to determine the immediate and remote causes of the crash,” Gabkwet had said in a statement.