Five Killed In Sarawak Flying Doctor Service Helicopter Crash
One of the victims has been identified as a doctor from Kelantan.
- Five Flying Doctor Service helicopter crew members, including a pilot, medical officer, assistant medical officer, and two nurses, were killed near Long Lellang STOLport.
- Footage of the burning aircraft losing altitude rapidly spread across social media, with videos shared by private accounts and official media outlets.
- Heavy rain has delayed recovery efforts, with authorities awaiting better weather before deploying a helicopter to the crash site.
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Five individuals aboard a Flying Doctor Service (FDS) helicopter were killed after the aircraft crashed in the Marudi District in Sarawak.
The victims were the pilot, a medical officer, an assistant medical officer, and two nurses, The Star reported.
Miri Airport Fire and Rescue Services (AFRS) indicated that the helicopter took off from Miri, before it crashed near the end of the airstrip at Long Lellang STOLport (short take-off and landing airport) at around 4pm on 8 September.
Footage of the crash goes viral on social media
Videos of the crashing helicopter, and the aftermath, has been widely shared by private accounts and official media outlets.
The footage shows the aircraft on fire and leaving a trail of smoke behind, as it quickly lost altitude.
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One of the victims has been identified
Medical Officer Dr Ainul Baroah Kamaruddin has been confirmed as one of the five victims of the crash. The rest of the passengers’ identities are yet to be identified by officials.
Following the incident, a picture of Dr Ainul along with others believed to be Health Ministry personnel seated in a helicopter, was widely circulated online.
However, the photo was posted on March 10 on a Facebook account belonging to Alexson Adit, who is also present in the photo wearing green and seated next to the pilot.
At the time of writing, the cause of the crash has not yet been determined.
Heavy rain hampers operations to reach crash site
As of this morning, efforts to reach the helicopter crash site at Long Lellang STOLport has been delayed by heavy rain.
According to Borneo Post, authorities are waiting for the weather to improve before deploying a helicopter to the area.
A briefing on operational arrangements was held at the Sarawak Fire and Rescue Department Northern Region Airbase.
Present at the meeting were Deputy Minister in the Premier of Sarawak’s Department (Labour, Immigration and Project Monitoring) Datuk Gerawat Gala, Miri Resident Galong Luang, Miri police chief Assistant Commissioner Mohd Farhan Lee Abdullah, and Marudi police chief DSP Nor Aizan Mohd Jamil.
It’s understood that the journey to Long Lellang by road takes about 10 hours or longer, depending on weather and road conditions.
Additionally, access to Long Lellang is currently limited to former logging roads and the Rural Air Service while all commercial flights to Long Lellang have been suspended to facilitate the investigation following the incident.
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