Two helicopters of the Malaysian Navy collided mid-air while conducting rehearsal for a Royal Malaysian Navy celebration event.
BREAKING: 2 military helicopters crash after mid-air collision in Malaysia, killing all 10 people on board pic.twitter.com/ckiEaqnd4R— Megatron (@Megatron_ron) April 23, 2024
At least 10 crew members were aboard the two helicopters, Malaysian news media outlets reported.
The crash happened near the Malaysian town of Lumut, which also houses a navy base. Local media outlets have said that there are no known survivors.
The footage of the clash and the subsequent crash, now going viral on social media, showed one of the helicopters clipped the rotor of the other leading to the crash. One helicopter crashed onto a running track and another crashed into a swimming pool nearby.
The Perak fire and rescue department confirmed to the Malaysian Free Press that 10 people have died following the crash in Lumut, Perak.
“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,” the department was quoted as saying by the news outlet. They said that work is ongoing to retrieve the bodies of the dead.
The Royal Malaysian Navy also released a statement where they said that two helicopters, identified as models HOM (M503-3) and Fennec (M502-6), had collided and crashed at 9:32am (local time). They said that the choppers were rehearsing for the Navy’s 90th anniversary event scheduled to take place from May 3-5.
They further added that the HOM (M503-3) helicopter was carrying seven people and the remaining three were 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,” the press release said.
The nation’s navy said that a probe panel is being set up to investigate the incident.
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