Ulasi: A hostess with footprint on runway
The hostesses that died aboard the Dana Airline plane which crashed on June 3 had different dreams, but, as JAYNE AUGOYE and MAUREEN AZUH write, Uche Ulasi’s exploits in modeling stand out her memory

With the death of Uche Ulasi in the June 3 air crash, Nigeria  lost not only an air hostess, it also lost a model. The reason is that beyond her usually smart appearances and professional conduct, she recorded some memorable exploits in the beauty and fashion industry.


Ulasi had always dreamt of making it big in the modelling business. Mother luck smiled on her when she got her break a few years back as a runway model.


Standing at 5’ 11 inches, 29-year-old Ulasi was a delight on stage while also making an impact appearing in several TV commercials and as an event hostess.


Described by friends and family as a beautiful and happy-go-lucky girl, the Anambara State native dreamt of making it big in both worlds – fashion/entertainment and aviation- before she met death aboard the ill-fated Dana Air Flight 992.


Sadly too, the light skinned beauty passed on two weeks to the  commencement of her annual leave.


On a special Facebook tribute page in her honour, it has been an outpouring of emotions. One read, “I can’t believe this beautiful lady burnt to ashes.. Rip.”


Ulasi was a 2008 Mass Communication graduate of Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ogun State. She also attended Federal Government Girls College Owerri, Imo State.


Vivian Effiong Atangakak was yet another cabin crew member with a tall ambition. She was due to get married on July 28, 2012. Preparations were already in full gear with a cultural troupe having been booked to entertain guests. 


 For Eke Chijioke, who was also one the crew members, the tears will not stop flowing for a long time to come. Eke, 37, was not supposed to be on the ill-fated flight. His wife, Elizabeth, noted in an interview that he was supposed to be off duty.


She  said, “On that fateful day, he was not on duty. They called him to relieve somebody. I think they said the person that was supposed to be on duty was sick. So, he went to stand in for the person that was not on duty.”


Eke married on July 22, 2006 and had a son of about a year old.  His remains is one of those yet to be identified, and is still awaiting the DNA test.


33-year-old Onyinye  Mgbanwa was also one of the crew members. Described by her Facebook friends as cheerful, she hailed from Issele Uku in Delta State.


On Sunday, one of them wrote, “Today is exactly a week, dear friend. It was painful too to write anything on your wall earlier but now I realise it’s just a ‘teeny weeny’ bit of what I can still do. I’m certain you have settled in with the angels. It’s still annoyingly sad that you left suddenly. However, I know you wouldn’t want to miss the fellowship with Jesus and his angels albeit early. Rest well, babe.”
source punchng.com