AT the resumed hearing of the coroner inquest into the death of the 153 passengers aboard the ill-fated Dana Air plane that crashed in Iju/Ishaga area of Lagos on June 3, at the Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja, on Wednesday, a witness from the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Mr John Ekpe, told the inquest that FAAN has an emergency plan and disaster emergency team, but the search and rescue functions outside the airport fall on the National Emergency Agency (NEMA), which failed at crowd control.

Ekpe, an assistant General Manager of Airport Rescue and Fire Fighting Services, also stated before the magistrate, Mr Alexander Komolafe, the coroner presiding over the inquest, that there was no emergency agency that had all the equipment, adding that they all needed assistance.

He stated further that NEMA, as an agency saddled with the responsibility of search and rescue, had not undertaken what he called national emergency response test before the ill-fated flight.

According to him, the emergency rescue team of NEMA could not perform well in crowd control during the Dana emergency, because the team had not been taking the test.

Ekpe stated further that FAAN rescue team got to the site of the crash with two fire trucks and a water tanker before any other agency, but could not access the actual site of the incident, because of the inability to manage the crowd.

He added that the team had to call in Julius Berger to assist in the evacuation of affected buildings and wreckage.

Another witness, Sanni Enessi, a chief fire fighter and station commander at the airport rescue and fire fighting services of FAAN, told the court that the agency had a checklist of agencies it calls for emergency plan, adding that a major challenge aside the bad road network was that of crowd control.

The Inquest continues this morning with the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Total Oil, Forte Oil and two other witnesses scheduled for appearance.

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