A Nigerian Air Force ground attack helicopter crashed last night around Federal University of Technology, Yola, Adamawa State. Military sources said the incident took place at least 200 kilometres away from the theatre of Boko Haram’s terrorist activities.

A terse one-paragraph statement posted on Defence Headquarters’ blog (http://defenceinfo.mil.ng/) said that the crew of three was lost in the unfortunate event but that rescuers worked throughout the night until this morning to preserve the wreckage and scene.

The statement runs thus: “At about 2200hours yesterday 13 November 2014, a ground attack helicopter on an armed patrol crashed around the Federal University of Technology Yola, Adamawa State. The crew of 3 was lost in the ill-fated accident. Rescue party worked throughout the night to preserve the wreckage of the aircraft and scene of the accident for proper investigation to be carried out. Further details would be made known later.”

Putting the crash into perspective, PRNigeria in a statement revealed that since the Boko Haram campaign of terror commenced in full scale in the North-East states of Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe, the Nigerian Air Force has flown at least 6,000 missions in efforts to rid the zone of insurgency.

“The missions, aiming to decimate, degrade, destabilise and demoralise the Boko Haram terrorists with a view to completely curtailing their freedom of actions, comprised ground attacks platforms, mission on ATR-42, Beechcraft air surveillance platform, airlift missions using the G-222 and the C-130H,” PRNigeria stated.

Chief of Air Staff of the Nigerian Air Force, Air Marshal Adesola Amosu, had said at a recent forum at the University of Ibadan that the scope of the operations included airlift of troops and equipment, rotation of forces, battlefield interdiction, casualty evacuation, air surveillance aperations and armed reconnaissance missions, among other operations.