A church service in honour of Capt. Peter Bello (Jr), the co-pilot of the Bristow helicopter that crashed Aug. 12 at a Lagos lagoon was held in Calabar on Thursday.
The service was held at St Patrick’s Church, Ikot Ansa, for the 26-year-old pilot, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.
The Parish Priest, Rev. Father Patrick Cochran, who drew his Bible reading from John 14:1-6, admonished Christians to continue to have faith in God, in spite of challenges.
Cochran also consoled the family of the deceased and urged them to be thankful to God that their son died a Christian.
“At this period of your mourning, I urge you to take heart and pray fervently for the soul of the young pilot to rest with the lord,’’ he said.
NAN reports that the corpse was not brought to the church for reasons the family said were personal, yet the service attracted dignitaries from all works of life.
Efforts by NAN to speak with the parents of the late pilot yielded no result as they both declined comments.
However, Mrs Femi Bello, a relative of the deceased, said that death took the young pilot too early, when his services were most needed at Bristow.
She prayed for the soul of Bello to rest in peace.
A family friend, Mrs Theresa Okon, said that the late Bello was a celebrated pilot, diligent and dedicated to his job.
Okon enjoined the family of the deceased to be courageous and be consoled by the fact that their son left a trade mark in his profession.
Late Bello was the co-pilot of the Bristow helicopter 5NBDG that crashed with 12 passengers on board, leaving six dead.
He was born on the July 4, 1989 in Calabar to the family of Mr and Mrs Peter Bello (Snr.), who all hails from Cross River.
He gained employment as a trainee pilot with Bristow Helicopters in 2013 and got his flying licence in 2014. (NAN)
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