The identities of the six Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited employees who lost their lives in a helicopter crash on Thursday have been disclosed, Saturday PUNCH can confirm.
Our correspondents obtained the electronic manifest of the flight, which revealed the names of the workers as Tamunoemi Suku, Alu Lawrence, Etim Emmanuel, Kenneth Chikwem, Frank Oriamre, and Borris Ndorbo.
The pilot was identified as Captain Yakubu Dukas, while the eighth person aboard had yet to be identified as of press time.
The helicopter, operated by East Winds Aviation, was transporting contract staff to the FPSO—NUIMS ANTAN facility when it tragically crashed into the Atlantic Ocean.
The tragedy occurred off the coast of Bonny Finima in Port Harcourt on Thursday.
In response to the incident, President Bola Tinubu extended condolences to the families of the victims and ordered an intensification of search and rescue operations.
Five of the victims have been recovered dead, while the remains of the remaining three occupants are still missing.
In the wake of this disaster, Saturday PUNCH gathered some details about five of the victims on social media.
Captain Yakubu Dukas
The National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers while expressing profound sorrow over the loss of Dukas, described him as a seasoned pilot with over 20 years of experience.
Dukas was also said to have served as the vice president of the union.
Relatives and friends of the deceased took to social media to share their grief, with Thandazile Artemis mourning, “Captain Yakubu Dukas, my sweetest Uncle Yaks. This isn’t how it was meant to be.”
A Twitter user, @vanniebee, wrote, “Captain Yakubu Dukas! I’m in shock and may never recover from this.”
Tamunoemi Suku
Tamunoemi Suku, a medical doctor and graduate of Obafemi Awolowo University, described himself on Facebook as “gentle and highly principled.”
Hailing from Kalabari, Rivers State, he attended Enitona High School in Port Harcourt before pursuing his medical studies.
Suku’s Facebook presence is minimal, with his birthday on November 13 being one of the few events he celebrated online.
He married Laura Emi-Suku, an entrepreneur, on April 18, 2015, and they lived together in Port Harcourt. Friends paid tributes to him online, with Charity Eberechukwu Onuh stating, “What a great loss. Oh my God! Rest in Peace.”
Lawrence Alu
Known as “Fly Guy” on Facebook, Lawrence Alu hailed from Abbi, Rivers State, and resided in Lagos.
He studied at the Regional Maritime Academy in Accra, Ghana.
His relative, Innocent Ibeyenwo, expressed sorrow over his death on Facebook, saying, “My brother Lawrence Alu, it’s so painful to hear you were among those involved in the helicopter crash. May God grant your family the strength to bear this loss.”
Another user, Taiwo Omotuyine, reflected on their time together, stating, “The law is gone; he was my colleague.”
Frank Oriamre
Originally from Edo State, Frank Oriamre maintained a sparse social media presence, with only two posts: one depicting him in a yellow overall next to a Christmas tree and another featuring colleagues he referred to as part of his production crew.
Borris Ndorbo
A graduate of Rivers State University, Borris Ndorbo lived in Port Harcourt with his wife. He had been employed in the floating production, storage, and offloading sector since August 28, 2023.
His social media activity was minimal, with his last post being a selfie taken in a helicopter along with a nostalgic photo captioned, “Good friends. Just something important to remember.”
NUPENG, PENGASSAN mourn members
The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers also identified two victims.
In a statement on Friday, NUPENG said the men were frontline members of the union. They were a branch chairman of NUPENG, Ndorbo, and a member, Alu.
In a statement signed by its President, Williams Akporeha, and the General Secretary, Afolabi Olawale, NUPENG expressed sadness over the incident.
“The leadership and entire membership of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers express profound sadness and deep sorrow over the tragic helicopter crash that claimed the lives of eight individuals, including six passengers and two crew members.
“We extend our deepest condolences to the families of the victims, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited, the management and staff of Arion Energy Services Ltd, and the NUIM Antan Branch of NUPENG. The entire oil and gas sector and aviation community are profoundly affected and impacted by this heartbreaking accident and loss.
“We are doubly saddened to note that amongst the deceased were two highly committed and frontline members of NUPENG, these were, Comrade Boris Dorbi, the dependable branch chairman of NUPENG and Lawrence Alu, who is also a respected member of NUIM Antan Branch of NUPENG; their unfortunate and untimely death is a significant blow to the oil and gas industry and our collective workforce,” NUPENG mourned.
The union commended the efforts of the Rivers and Akwa Ibom State governments, as well as the Federal Ministry of Aviation and other agencies involved in the recovery operations.
Similarly, the President of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, Festival Osifo, mourned members of the union who were involved in the crash.
Osifo said the crash claimed the lives of four of its members.
He said, “The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria is deeply saddened and shocked by the tragic helicopter crash that claimed the lives of four of its esteemed members.
“The deceased members were valued members of the PENGASSAN family and dedicated professionals in the Oil and Gas industry. Their contributions to the Sector and to our Association will be sorely missed.”
He noted that the association was working to gather more information about the circumstances surrounding the crash.
“We urge all parties involved to conduct a thorough and transparent investigation to determine the cause of the accident and urgent measures put in place to prevent future tragedies,” Osifo said.
NAMA engages Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea
Saturday PUNCH gathered that the Nigeria Air Management Agency had enlisted neighbouring countries such as Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea in the search for the missing crashed helicopter and four other passengers.
As of the time of the crash on Thursday, eight persons were onboard but three lifeless bodies were retrieved from the Atlantic Ocean where the chopper ditched. Two others were later recovered on Friday, putting the number of recovered bodies at five.
Search operations have continued, but efforts to get either the aircraft or other victims from the ocean have not been fruitful.
The military, National Emergency Management Agency and emergency locators jointly started the search operations for the passengers of the helicopter immediately after the unfortunate incident occurred.
The aircraft was conveying workers of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited.
The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, confirmed the unfortunate incident to our correspondent through a statement signed by the Head of Press and Public Relations of the ministry, Odutayo Oluseyi.
Meanwhile, a reliable source, who has been in practice for over 10 years, hinted to the Saturday PUNCH that as of 9pm on Thursday, stakeholders were already planning on how to break the unfortunate news to the families of the deceased persons.
When contacted for an update on the matter, the Managing Director of NAMA, Umar Farouq, told Saturday PUNCH that efforts were being made to find both the missing helicopter and passengers.
“Through concerted efforts, we are on top of the matter, with other agencies the search operation is on and Insha Allah we shall be successful,” he stated.
When asked if the agency had sought the help of neighbouring countries such as Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea, the NAMA boss responded in the affirmative, saying all the Flight Information Regions have been called upon for help.
In aviation, a flight information region is a specified region of airspace in which a flight information service and an alerting service are provided. FIRs are the largest regular division of airspace in use in the world as of now, and have existed at least since 1947.
Farouq added, “Yes, in situations like this we collaborate with all adjacent FIRs for assistance. It is our responsibility to reach out to all Search and rescue stakeholders, which we have done in this regard. Cameroon, Equatorial-guinea among others are stakeholders in this regard and we have contacted them all.”
In a post on his X account, Keyamo noted that the remaining passengers had yet to be found.
“This is just to update the public that the divers deployed to the scene of the helicopter crash yesterday at the Atlantic Ocean, near Bonny-Finima, off the coast of Calabar, during a routine flight are still at work to find the remaining bodies and the wreckage.
“The ministry will be making a more comprehensive Press Statement as soon as we achieve some breakthrough,” he stated.
