Skip to main content

Not Again! Medevac plane with seven on board disappears off Senegal


(Reuters) - A medical evacuation plane with seven people on board, including a French patient, disappeared off the coast of Senegal on Saturday night during a flight from Burkina Faso to Dakar, the Senegalese civil aviation authority said on Sunday.

The private Senegal air plane flying from Ouagadougou dropped off radar screens at 7:08 p.m. (1908 GMT), 118 km (74 miles) west of the Senegalese capital, the aviation authority said in a statement.
"The search is still going on but it hasn't been fruitful so far and we will probably continue it tomorrow," said Magueye Marame Ndao, head of the authority.
ADVERTISEMENT
"We reckon the last point at which contact with radar was lost was 60 nautical miles (111 km) off the coast of Dakar," Ndao said, adding that three planes and a naval ship were involved in the search.
The plane was carrying three crew members, a doctor and two nurses as well as the patient. Those on board included two Algerians and a citizen of Congo, the aviation authority said, without specifying if that meant Democratic Republic of Congo or Republic of Congo.
The plane, chartered by ambulance service SOS Medecin Senegal, left Ouagadougou at 4:30 p.m. (1630 GMT), Burkina Faso's minister of transport, Daouda Traore, told Reuters. Ouagadougou is around 1,700 km (1,100 miles) southeast of Dakar.

Comments

Popular Posts

#AT LAST: FG, marketers agree to end fuel scarcity next week

The Federal Government and petrol marketers on Friday agreed to put an end to Nigeria’s fuel scarcity problems before the close of business next week Saturday. The Punch had reported exclusively that the government would meet with the marketers on Friday in a bid to address the prolonged fuel scarcity problems. The meeting, which was well attended by stakeholders in the sector, had top officials from the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria, Pipelines and Product Marketing Company, and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation. Others were heads from the Department of Petroleum Resources, Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, Petroleum Equalisation Fund and the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources. Reading out the resolution reached after the meeting which lasted for several hours at the headquarters of the petroleum ministry, the Permanent...

President Zuma condemns killing of police officers

President Jacob Zuma has strongly condemned the killing of five police officers in the past week and called on members of the public to work with law enforcement agencies in the fight against crime and the creation of safer communities.

Oshiomhole, wife postpone honeymoon

There were indications on Saturday that the Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, and his newly-wedded wife, Iara, have postponed their much expected honeymoon till June. Governor Oshiomhole had on Friday married former Miss Iara Fortes, an ex-model from Cape Verde, at a marriage ceremony witnessed by a large turnout of dignitaries from various sectors of the country and he was expected to proceed on a honeymoon with the new First Lady. But it was gathered that the couple had placed their honeymoon on hold in order to attend the inauguration ceremony of the President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) scheduled for May 29 in Abuja. Informed sources disclosed that the new couple might have their honeymoon in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. The source said, “They are still in Nigeria. They will go for their honeymoon maybe in June.”