2 Pinoys survive chopper crash in Nigeria

Two Filipino pilots survived after the helicopter they were flying crashed in Nigeria last week, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said yesterday.

In a report to the DFA, the Philippine embassy in Abuja, Nigeria said Captains Wilfredo Abo and Javier Marmol, pilots of the Odegene Air Shuttle Helicopter Services, were flown from Warri to Apapa, Lagos, where they were taken to the Lagoon Hospital.

The two are now receiving medical treatment at the hospital, the report added.

The embassy said Abo is now in stable condition after he underwent a shoulder operation on Sunday. Marmol, who was badly hurt in the crash, responds to questions but is still unable to speak.

Philippine Ambassador to Abuja Masaranga Umpa has notified Marmol’s wife, who intends to fly to Nigeria to be with her husband.

The embassy is monitoring the investigation into the helicopter crash, he added.

A Nigerian passenger of the helicopter died, but the owner of the helicopter company survived the crash.

The AS-355 Twin Squirrel helicopter carried four people on board when it departed Lagos at 7:11 a.m. on Friday for Port Harcourt and was supposed to arrive at its destination at 9:30 a.m.

The helicopter crashed near the Delta Steel Company in Warri at around 9 a.m. — Pia Lee-Brago