TEN navy personnel were killed when two Malaysian Armed Forces helicopters collided in mid-air at the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) base in Lumut, Perak on Tuesday (April 23) morning.
This was confirmed by the RMN through a statement earlier.
“The RMN confirms that an RMN Maritime Operations Helicopter (HOM-AW139) and a Fennec helicopter crashed during a rehearsal for the 90th Navy Day Parade at the RMN Lumut base at 9.32am this morning,” it read.
“This incident involved a total of 10 personnel, comprising 7 RMN HOM crew members and 3 RMN Fennec crew members. All victims were confirmed deceased at the scene and were sent to the Lumut RMN base military hospital for identification processes.
“The RMN will establish an investigation board to determine the cause of the incident.
“The RMN requests the public not to share videos of the incident to preserve the sensitivity of the families and the investigation process.”
Earlier, a 21-second video went viral on social media showing one helicopter colliding with the rear of another helicopter before both were seen crashing to the ground.
In the same video, helicopter debris can be seen falling onto the ground near the location where hundreds of other navy personnel were conducting marching drills.
Following the crash, the HOM (M503-3) helicopter plunged onto the staircase of the navy stadium, while the other chopper ended up near the navy sports complex’s swimming pool. – April 23, 2024
Main pic credit: Capt (RTD) Dr Md Hassan Omar (RMN)
