The naval helicopter crashed into a swamp at about 2pm on Tuesday, at Isiokpo, headquarters of the Ikwerre local government area of Rivers State.
The zonal coordinator of the Nigerian Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Emenike Umesi, said the four occupants comprised two pilots and two engineers, said to be of Lieutenant Commander Rank.
The NEMA chief, in charge of the south-south zone, said the aircraft took off from Bonny, which is home to the Liquefied Natural Gas plant.
A search and rescue operation commenced immediately after the crash, with massive a crowd gathering around the crash site. Just one body had been recovered at the time of this report.
The Joint Task Force (JTF) spokesperson, Timothy Antigha, also confirmed the crash, saying "a search party has been dispatched to the crash site which is in a swamp." He offered no other details. Security agents at the accident scene however said naval personnel recovered "some vital documents" at the scene.
Officials of the Accident Investigation Bureau of the ministry of aviation were yet to arrive at the scene to unravel the reason for the air crash at press time. The last time such a fatal crash happened in Nigeria was just a few months ago, when a Wings aircraft went down in Cross River State in May 2009.
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