Chopper crash stalls fight against queala birds in Kebbi, Sokoto, Zamfara

The 6-seater Aztec light aircraft contracted by the federal ministry of agriculture to fight queala birds in Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara states collided with high tension electricity wires in Matseri while spraying chemicals during a low level flying exercise in the area.Farmers that spoke to our correspondent expressed fear that the crash will stall the […]

The 6-seater Aztec light aircraft contracted by the federal ministry of agriculture to fight queala birds in Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara states collided with high tension electricity wires in Matseri while spraying chemicals during a low level flying exercise in the area.
Farmers that spoke to our correspondent expressed fear that the crash will stall the fight against the birds in the area which have continued to wreck havoc to their farmlands unchallenged.
Sani Bello, a farmer in the area said: “We thank God that there was no serious injury or any loss of lives from the accident. We also thank God that the incident occurred at night when farmers had left the farms. It would have been a disaster if it had been in the day time when the farmers would have been working at the farm where it crashed.”
Other farmers that spoke to Daily Trust said they have resorted to beating drums and other noisy instruments to scare the queala birds away as the only way left for them to protect their farms from mass destruction by the seasonal birds.
The village head of Matseri, Malam Muhammad Bello, told Daily Trust that the plane crashed around 7:30pm and that the villagers that first rushed to the scene rescued the two-man crew members on board who sustained slight bruises.
A government official, who pleaded anonymity because he has no permission to talk to the press, confirmed the fear of the farmers when he said that it may take sometimes before another aircraft could be deployed to the area for the spray exercise.
He said the same aircraft had successfully carried out similar spray exercise in Sokoto State before it was deployed to Kebbi.
Chairman of Bunza Local Government Area where the crash took place, Alhaji Aliyu Raha, while confirming the incident said the plane was on agric chemical spray mission on farms in Zamfara, Sokoto and Kebbi states.
“We have contacted the state ministry of agriculture and they have also confirmed to us that the plane was actually on chemical spray mission of farmlands from Zamfara through Sokoto and Kebbi states before it crash landed here.
When contacted on phone, Kebbi State Director of Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Mr. Kelvin Tekpat, said he was out of town on an official assignment.