Two military helicopters collided today during the Royal Malaysian Navy's (TLDM) rehearsal for its 90th anniversary celebration scheduled for May this year.
The Perak fire and rescue department has confirmed that 10 crew members lost life after two TLDM helicopters collided and crashed in Lumut, Perak, today.
As per sources, an AgustaWestland AW139 medium multirole helicopter and a lighter counterpart, a Eurocopter Fennec collided with each other while reportedly carrying 10 people.
According to preliminary data, one of the helicopters crashed at the entrance to the Lumut airbase stadium, while the other fell into a swimming pool at the airbase's sports complex.
In a statement, the TLDM said medical officers confirmed their deaths at the scene.
“The department was alerted to an emergency call at 9.50am regarding a helicopter incident at the Lumut Royal Malaysian Navy stadium in Manjung, Perak,” it said, adding that teams from nearby stations were dispatched to the scene.
Videos of the incident those are making rounds on social media shows one helicopter crashing into the tail of another mid-air, and both diving to the ground after that.
“The two helicopters collided during flight training. All 10 victims on board have been confirmed dead by the medical officers,” Suhaimy Mohamad Suhail, senior operations commander from the fire and rescue department said.
One of the helicopters was seen clipping the rear rotor of another helicopter, causing both to go into a tailspin and crash. Fragments of the helicopters are seen flying through the air and landing near an open field where naval members were assembled.
In a statement, the Royal Malaysian Navy confirmed that two helicopters, identified as models HOM (M503-3) and Fennec (M502-6), had collided and subsequently crashed in the 9.32am incident.
The navy said the incident involved a total of 10 individuals, with the HOM (M503-3) helicopter carrying seven people and the remaining three aboard the Fennec (M502-6).
“All the victims were confirmed dead at the scene and were subsequently transported to the Lumut Royal Malaysian Navy Base military hospital for identification purposes,” it said.
The navy said it would establish an investigation board to determine the cause of the incident.
“We ask the public not to share videos of the incident to respect the sensitivities of the affected families and to facilitate the investigation process,” it said.
