Update: Eyewitness Gives Reason Why They Couldn’t Rescue Victims Of The Air Crash

A man simply identified as John has explained why victims of the air force jet that crashed on Sunday were not rescued.

John, who told the Daily Trust that he was one of the first people to arrive at the scene of the disaster, said the victims were all alive after the plane crashed.

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It took more than 30 minutes for emergency officials to get to the scene, he said, revealing that those on the ground tried to rescue the trapped passengers but prevented smoke billowing from the ill-fated aircraft from doing so.

John said the aircraft exploded as they were trying to extinguish the smoke, and they all fled to safety.

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He said the crash had occurred 100 metres from the village of Bassa, but there were no reported cases of ground casualties.

According to the Daily Trust, the aircraft crashed a few minutes after leaving Abuja’s Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, killing all seven people on board.

The incident was reported by Ibikunle Daramola, the force’s spokesman, who said the investigation was ongoing.

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At around 12pm, our correspondent at the scene of the crash said the black box and the cockpit recorder had both been retrieved.

He also saw dead bodies taken into body bags and carried into ambulances that were waiting.

The investigators immediately started collaborating with the Air Force staff to map out the body parts of the aircraft strewn around the crash site.

The aircraft was said to have reported engine failure at 10:39 a.m. and crashed at 10:48 a.m. on the Abuja runway 22 final approach path.