Helicopter crash: Probe team to visit site today

The team which was instituted by the Chief of Defence Forces to investigate the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) helicopter crash is today expected to visit the site as part of its probe.

The crash, which occurred on January 2 in Nyamisingiri Village, on the border of Kabarole and Ntoroko districts, claimed the lives of three individuals; two of the helicopter’s occupants and a civilian identified as John Mukidi, a resident of the area.

The crash site was cordoned off by the UPDF, following reports that the helicopter was carrying bombs destined for the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as part of Operation Shujaa, aimed at countering Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a rebel group.

In an interview with the Monitor yesterday,  Maj Ivan Adakun Wycliff Tukei, the leader of the team responsible for removing the bombs from the crash site, said as a result of the board’s visit, they have not completed their work.

“We have not removed all the wreckage from the scene because the board of inquiry team is expected to be in Fort Portal today and on Monday to visit the crash site for further investigations. If we remove the wreckage, we may tamper with the scene and affect the investigations,” he said.

He added that after the board of inquiry completes their investigation, they will proceed with removing the remaining wreckage.

Maj Tukei said community members near the scene are not allowed to access the wreckage site due to safety concerns.

Meanwhile on Friday, the UPDF bomb squad successfully detonated some of the bombs which fell out of the helicopter.

The bomb experts combed through the area to locate and remove all potential explosive devices. At about 4pm, some of the bombs that were recovered were detonated.

“Currently, our bomb experts are on the ground removing all bombs, and by Saturday, the place is likely to be free and safe,” Col Godfrey Kyomuhendo, the operation and training officer of Mountain Division said in an interview last Friday.

The Ntoroko Resident District Commissioner, Rt Maj Johns Mugabirwe, asked the public not to go to the crash site until it is declared free of bombs.

Ms Agnes Asiimwe, a resident of Nyamisingiri Village, said: “We are happy because since Tuesday, we have not been sleeping because the bombs were not yet detonated. But since they have started removing them, we are now safe.”

Mukidi was laid to rest last Friday amid tight security by the UPDF. However, because his house had been destroyed as a result of the crash and the cordoning off of the crash site, Mukidi’s funeral was held at his brother’s home, about 2km away from his residence.

The body was then transported to his home for burial by the UPDF, with only a few people allowed to attend.

Col Kyomuhendo said the compensation process for the deceased will be determined based on the findings of the board of inquiry.

He said in the meantime, the UPDF provided the family with Shs5 million for burial expenses and an additional Shs2.4 million to rent a house and buy food for six months.

He said the preliminary investigations suggest that bad weather caused the crash.

The UPDF also offered relief food to the family, including rice, beans, posho, and boxes of mineral water.

Mr Charles Irumba, the father-in-law of Mukidi, expressed gratitude to the UPDF for their support and hoped they would fulfil their promises.

“We thank the UPDF because since the incident happened, they have been with us and they have supported us in providing relief food and money. We hope that they will also bring the other things they have promised to the family,” he said.

Ms Kugonza Asaba, one of Mukidi’s children, questioned whether the helicopter was adequately inspected before takeoff, expressing concerns about the family’s future without their sole breadwinner.

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