SOSOLISO AIRPLANE CRASH/ENUGU BUS ACCIDENT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 LAGOS 001876 SIPDIS SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - HANDLE ACCORDINGLY STATE PASS FAA FOR ACONLEY, TRANSPORTATION FOR FAA; DAKAR PLEASE PASS TO FAA REP ED JONES; ROME PLEASE PASS TO TSA REP JOHN HALINSKI FOR DS/IP/AF E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAIR CASC ASEC AMGT NI PREL SUBJECT: SOSOLISO AIRPLANE CRASH/ENUGU BUS ACCIDENT REF: A. LAGOS 1869 ¶B. ABUJA 2387 -------------- Sosoliso Airplane Crash Status Report -------------- ¶1. (SBU) Consular Response Team (CRT) reported Doctor's Without Borders (DWB) collected Amcit Hawa Kamara's remains and are in contact with Ms. Kamara's parents to arrange for transport of her remains and personal effects to Monrovia, Liberia (Ms. Kamara was a DWB employee). Post has tried to reach the person Ms. Kamara designated as her emergency contact in the United States, but have not received a response. Sosoliso Airlines has secured her personal effects, but has yet to release them to CRT or DWB. ¶2. (SBU) A dual national (U.S. and Nigerian) student at the Jesuit school, Richard Udeozor, was on board the flight and authorities have informed us that his parents have collected his remains. Post has attempted to telephone Mr. Udeozor's parents, but have not yet received a response. Mission continues to investigate the possibility of other Amcits on board the plane. CRT and Nigerian Red Cross report that only two survivors from the air crash are still alive. ¶3. (SBU) CRT visited 5 or 6 morgues yesterday and reported most of the bodies have been collected by relatives. Both the CRT and Accidents Investigation and Prevention Bureau (AIPB) Director Angus Ozoka reported the crash site is secured, and all baggage accounted for. ¶4. (SBU) AIPB Director Ozoka said the flight data recorders were sent to the United Kingdom last night, December 11, for analysis. During a press conference at Port Harcourt today, Ozoka stated the AIPB hoped to have a preliminary indication of the cause of the crash by week's end. ¶5. (SBU) National Transportation and Safety Board (NTSB) Rep Dennis Jones reported the Sosoliso investigation was going well. Boeing personnel previously involved in investigating the October Bellview crash would arrive in Lagos tonight and join him in investigating both mishaps. ¶6. (U) Nigerian press reported several prominent Nigerians were on board the flight including: Uche Okoro, President Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN); Fountain of Life Church Pastor Bimbo Odukoya; and the Rivers State Commissioner for Education, Professor Thompson Okugagu. All were killed. -------------- Enugu Bus Accident Status Report -------------- ¶7. (SBU) The CRT also visited SOS Hospital in Port Harcourt on December 12 to assist Amcit survivors of a December 11 bus crash in Enugu. Of the 17 people on the bus at the time of the accident, 8 died, including one Amcit, Breanna Michelle Esswein. ¶8. (SBU) Youth With A Mission (YWAM) has notified Ms. Esswein's parents of her death. Consulate Lagos is making arrangements with YWAM to facilitate transportation of Ms. Esswein's remains and personal effects. ¶9. (SBU) Two other Amcit members of YWAM, Erin Cothran and Rebecca Carter, were injured in the crash, and were taken to SOS Hospital. Hospital staff reported Ms. Cothran received a head laceration and a fracture to her left leg, which was also hemorrhaging. Ms. Cothran will be evacuated from Port Harcourt to Johannesburg via an SOS medical plane. Post has alerted medical staff at ConGen Johannesburg. Ms. Carter's injuries served much less severe, according to SOS doctors. Ms. Carter will fly to Accra and will be treated at Korle Blu Hospital. We have contacted Embassy Accra medical staff regarding her arrival. ¶10. (SBU) Government of Nigeria authorities granted special permission for these medical flights to use either Port Harcourt International Airport or a nearby military facility. ¶11. (U) This cable has been cleared by Embassy Abuja DCM Tom Furey. BROWNE