MMEA chopper crashes in Kuala Selangor

KUALA LUMPUR: A helicopter belonging to the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) crashed in the Pulau Angsa waters in Klang today but all four people on board survived.

Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) chief executive officer Datuk Captain Norazman Mahmud said the AW139 helicopter with registration number M72-01 was on a training flight when the incident happened.

"The helicopter departed from the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Subang at 9.10 am.

"The last contact the aircraft made with air traffic control officers was reported at 9.20 am but no emergency calls were received," he said in a statement.

He said the Kuala Lumpur Aeronautical Rescue Coordination Centre (KLARCC) at the Kuala Lumpur Air Traffic Control Centre was activated to identify the location of the helicopter as soon as a report on the incident was received.

He said all the victims were taken by a rescue helicopter to the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport at 10.58 am.

"An investigation will be conducted by the MMEA Investigation Board," he said.

In a separate statement, MMEA said the incident happened at about 9.55 am when the helicopter was making an emergency landing during the rescue training exercise.

MMEA director-general Maritime Admiral Datuk Hamid Mohd Amin said the CAAM and Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) in Putrajaya activated a search and rescue operation (SAR) at 10.15 am on receiving an emergency call from anglers.

He identified the victims as Lieutenant Commander (M) Tengku Mohd Nizam Tengku Zakaria, Lieutenant Commander (M) Mohamad Azrol Saidi, who are both pilots, Warrant Officer I (M) John Ibno and Petty Officer (M) Muhamad Nurhayyat Hashim, who is a rescue swimmer.

"Maritime assets dispatched to the incident location were Bot Pengawal 25 from Selangor, RH 16 and PSC 39 boats from Port Klang Marine Police and an MMEA AS 365 N3 Dauphine aircraft from the Subang Maritime Air Station (SUMS).

"All the AW139 crew members were rescued by the AS 365 N3 aircraft and flown to SUMS," he said.

Hamid said anglers on a boat near the scene had given initial assistance to the crew members.

He said 10 members of the Special Action and Rescue Team (STAR Team) and KM Bagan Datuk were also deployed to the location for security control.

He said the SAR was called off at 11.15 am and MMEA is investigating the cause of the incident.

-- BERNAMA

Read the latest news here