"I don't want to eat too much as I'm afraid the helicopter won't fly".

That was the last joke shared between Kuala Kangsar MP Datuk Wan Mohammad Khair-il Anuar Wan Ahmad and Kuala Kangsar Puteri UMNO chief Nurul Azni Bani Ami before the former boarded the ill-fated Eurocopter AS350 helicopter yesterday evening.

Earlier, both of them attended an event in Betong, about 250km from Kuching.

"At the post-event reception, he (Wan Mohammad Khair-il Anuar) jokingly said he did not want to eat too much as he was afraid that the helicopter would be too heavy to fly. Until now, I still hear his words drumming in my ears," she told Bernama here today.

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Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, at a press conference in Kuching earlier today, confirmed that the helicopter was carrying six people, including Wan Mohammad Khair-il Anuar.

The other five people were Deputy Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Noriah Kasnon, her husband Asmuni Abdullah, Plantation Industries and Commodities Ministry secretary-general Datuk Dr Sundaran Annamalai, Noriah's bodyguard Ahmad Sobri Harun and Filipino pilot Rudolf Rex Ragas.

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The helicopter left Betong at 4.12pm yesterday and should have arrived in Kuching at about 5pm.

Parts of the helicopter, including a floatation device, a chair, part of a door, part of a rotor and part of the body of the helicopter, were found near the river earlier today.

Nurul Azni said Wan Mohammad Khair-il Anuar was supposed to return to Kuching in another helicopter, but as the pilot was not available at the moment, he was invited by Noriah to join her.

"He was rushing to catch a flight from Kuching to Kuala Lumpur scheduled to depart at 9pm," she said.

Although Najib had announced that parts of the helicopter had been found, Nurul Azni said all Kuala Kangsar UMNO members and their families were still hoping and praying for the safety of their elected representative.