A Kogi State indigene, Dauda Onoruoiza, has been confirmed to be among the 176 passengers and crew that were killed on Wednesday when a missile from the Iranian forces hit Ukraine International Airlines flight PS7520 departing for Kiev from Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport.
Iran had, in a statement on Saturday said it ‘unintentionally’ shot the airliner.
Late Dauda Onoruoiza, from Kogi State is on a three-month training in Ukraine and was attached to the Boeing 737-800 to fly with and study the mechanical noise of the aircraft and report back to the company.
The plane was scheduled for maintenance on Monday, January 13, 2020 in Ukraine.
However, the Ukrainian Airline Flight 752 crashed Wednesday after take-off from Tehran’s airport.
The crash came hours after Iran fired missiles at Iraqi military bases housing US troops in retaliation for a drone strike at Baghdad airport that killed Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani.
After the drone operation in Iraq, US military flights around Iranian borders increased and Iranian military officials reported seeing aerial targets coming toward strategic centres, according to a statement by Iranian armed forces headquarters.
Reports indicate that the aircraft came close to a sensitive IRGC military centre at an altitude and flight condition that resembled hostile targeting.
“Under these circumstances, the aircraft was unintentionally hit, which unfortunately resulted in death of the many Iranian and foreign nationals,” the statement by Iran said.
Other victims include 82 Iranians, 63 Canadians, 11 Ukrainians, 10 Swedes, four Afghans, three Germans and three British nationals