Armed forces chief denies rumours Hawk 108 wreckage found

Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM) chief General Tan Sri Raja Mohamed Affandi Raja Mohamed Noor denied that the wreckage of the Hawk 108 which was involved in the crash Thursday morning has been found as spread on social media.

He said the search for the military aircraft was still going on in the vicinity of the swampy forest in Chukai, Terengganu, where the bodies of the two pilots were discovered.

"What they are talking about on social media is the old Aermacchi MB339C wreckage, so my advice while we are grieving during this tragic situation is to stop spreading such unfitting news.

"Do not raise any speculation or disseminate false information which adds to the emotional anguish of the victims' families, do respect their feelings," he said.

He said this to reporters when met at Tengku Ampuan Afzan Hospital Forensic Unit here yesterday afternoon.

Also present was Royal Malaysian Air Force chief General Datuk Seri Affendi Buang.

At the same time, Raja Mohamed Affandi described the death of Major Hasri Zahari, 31, and Major Yazmi Mohamed Yusof, 39, as a great loss to the Armed Forces and the nation.

"They were experienced pilots ... such a loss to the Malaysian Armed Forces and the country... I feel overwhelmed that even in the month of Ramadan, they were continually upgrading their skills to maintain high levels of competency.

"I pray Allah gives their family members the strength and patience to deal with this trying times especially during this last ten days of Ramadan. We will render them our assistance and share their grief," he said.

The post-mortem process was expected to take place at 9 pm yesterday after which the bodies of both RMAF pilots were brought to Kuantan RMAF Mosque for the funeral prayers.

The remains of both victims are scheduled to be flown to the RMAF base in Subang Friday morning before their remains are buried in their respective hometowns.

The remains of Hasri will be buried in Felda Lui Muda Bandar Baru Jempol, Negeri Sembilan while Yazmi's remains will be buried at Titiwangsa Muslim Cemetery in Kuala Lumpur.

-- BERNAMA