Eyewitness accounts shed light on RMAF CN325 aircraft emergency landing
All the eight crew survived the crash-landing that occurred at 8.50am. Local fishermen helped in their rescue. - Photo Astro AWANI
While the story on the survivors of a Royal Malaysian Air Force plane that crash-landed in Kuala Selangor earlier today grabbed most of the headlines, the fishermen involved in the rescuing process has a similar, if not more intriguing story to tell.
For 51-year-old fisherman Saari Mohd Nor, his day began like any regular day.
"I went out to the sea with a friend at around 5.30am and around 7am, we heard the booming sounds of jet engines around us.
"I did not pay any attention as I thought it was just a practice routine," he said.
However, he realised that something was amiss when one out of the five planes broke ranks and started circling the area repeatedly.
"It seemed that the noise from the jets were getting louder until it ended with a screeching sound and a big splash.
"At that juncture, my friend, a fellow fisherman and I saw black smoke billowing from at least 200 metres away from where our boat was," said Saari, who along with his friend positioned their boat closer to the site to find out what happened.
"At this moment, I saw the plane. Burning with its wings broken, I quickly scanned the area for survivors and discovered a pair of hands frantically waving at us," he added.
Saari immediately gestured to his friend to control the boats' direction before swiftly bringing up all eight survivors into the boat.
"I'm really glad all of them survived. Nothing is more precious than a human's life. That is why, I did not think twice about approaching the burning plane wreckage.
"It is a lie to say that fear did not crossed my mind but at that moment, I feel that I could not hesitate if I want to save whoever that was in the plane," said Saari.
Saari also adviced fishermen who are faced with similar predicament 'to stay calm and not panic'.
"Never panic. It will mess up your judgement. Know what needs to be done and do it," said Saari, who has been a fisherman for the past 30 years.
The eight crew members who were in the Royal Malaysian Air Force's CN235 aircraft which made an emergency landing near the beach at Kuala Selangor this morning have been sent to Subang RMAF base.
The RMAF earlier today said in a statement that the crew was flown to the base in an EC725 helicopter which landed at 10.18 am.
All the eight crew survived the crash-landing that occurred at 8.50am. Local fishermen helped in their rescue.
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