Helicopter fragments removal to be completed in three days

Transport Ministry secretary-general, Datuk Dr Ismail Bakar said the helicopter wreckage would be sent to the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) Air Unit Hangar in Sungai Besi for further investigations.

"All small metal fragments which can be transported by road will be removed from today. The larger and heavier components will be hauled by air using a helicopter," he told a press conference at the crash site here, Monday.

Also present was Selangor police chief, Datuk Abdul Samah Mat.

Ismail said the ministry would seek assistance from the Royal Malaysian Air Force and Fire and Rescue Department to remove parts of the wreckage, some of which were large components.

Meanwhile, Abdul Samah said he was satisfied with the search operation conducted by PDRM forensic team and a special team from the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA).

"To date, all major components have been identified by the teams and we are waiting for approval of the Air Accident Investigation team," he said.

He said once the AAIB was satisfied with the major components identified, the search operation need not be expanded.

"If they are still not satisfied, then I will expand the search radius," he said.

The search operation of the helicopter crash tragedy which killed six people including Rompin MP Tan Sri Jamaluddin Jarjis, and the Prime Minister's principal private secretary Datuk Azlin Alias, enters its third day today.

In the incident last Saturday, the Dauphin AS3655N2 (9M-1GB) helicopter carrying six people crashed in a rubber plantation in Kampung Sungai Pening, Semenyih at 4.55pm.

The four other victims were pilot Captain Clifford William Fournier, Jamaluddin's bodyguard, Razakan Seran, businessman Datuk Tan Huat Seang and a woman identified as Aidana Baizieva.