Malaysia helicopter crash kills 5
The pilot, a doctor, a medical assistant, and two nurses were among those killed, according to local media.
Five people were killed when a helicopter crashed at a remote airfield in inland Sarawak on the northwest coast of the island of Borneo, Malaysian authorities said today (9 September).
The BO-105 helicopter, operated by the country's Flying Doctor Service, went down yesterday (8 September) afternoon about 315 kilometres (195 miles) southeast of the city of Miri, disaster management officials said.
"All five on board are deceased, as confirmed by reports from the Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) and the Ministry of Health," Galong Luang, Miri's disaster management chairman, said in a statement.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
The pilot, a doctor, a medical assistant, and two nurses were among those killed, according to local media.
Footage of the crash shared on social media showed the helicopter belching smoke shortly before crashing.
A Malaysian air crash investigation team is expected to reach the crash site today (9 September), the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia said. It is unclear what caused the crash at this stage.
Malaysia's Flying Doctor Service assists indigenous communities that are heavily reliant on air transport due to dense jungles and difficult terrain in the country's interior regions.
Teams typically comprising a medical officer, assistant medical officer, nurses, and other health staff travel by helicopter or small aircraft on scheduled monthly or monthly rotations to villages and longhouses.
