‘Flying doctor’ helicopter crash in Malaysia kills 5 people
Five people, including medical staff, died after a “flying doctor” service helicopter crashed in Malaysia on Tuesday, authorities and state news agency reports said, as haze from wildfires complicated search efforts. Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad in a statement said initial information showed a pilot and four ministry staff were aboard the chopper that crashed near Sarawak state’s Long Lellang…
A "flying doctor" service helicopter crash in Malaysia claimed the lives of five people, including medical staff, on Tuesday, according to authorities and state news agency reports. The incident occurred near Sarawak state’s Long Lellang short take-off and landing airport, as reported by Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad. The pilot and four ministry staff members, comprising a medical officer, an assistant medical officer, and two nurses on official duty, were on board the aircraft that crashed, as confirmed by a disaster management committee official in Miri, Sarawak.
Search operations were hindered by hazy conditions, preventing the use of air services, stated Sarawak police commissioner Mohamad Zainal Abdullah. The crash site was located in a remote area that required a 10-hour road journey to reach. The civil aviation authority is now investigating the incident, and the transport ministry’s air accident investigations bureau is leading the inquiry.
Sarawak, situated on Borneo island, has been grappling with severe haze due to forest fires in neighboring Indonesia, causing many areas to record unhealthy air quality levels, as reported by government data on Wednesday. Malaysia had declared an emergency in Sarawak’s Serian district last week due to hazardous air pollution levels, although the declaration was later lifted once air quality improved.
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