MIRI, Sept 9 — The five victims in the helicopter which crashed in Long Lellang on Tuesday have been recovered, said Sarawak Police Commissioner Datuk Mohamad Zainal Abdullah.
He said the charred remains were found in the wreckage, adding that further identification was required with DNA samples taken from family members.
He identified the victims as pilot Captain Zainol Afiq Bee Sham, 30; medical officer Dr Ainul Baraah Kamaruddin, 33; assistant medical officer Alexson Adit Henry, 31; and staff nurses Debra Moset, 40, and Jessie Paya Jok, 44.
“Although we have identified all the victims, none of the remains were found intact.
“We have informed all the victims’ families and obtained DNA samples from them for identification purposes,” he told a press conference at Miri Airport here.
Mohamad Zainal said formal identification would be carried out at Miri Hospital, where the remains and tissue samples would also be sent for further examination and DNA testing.
He said police were fortunate that the helicopter crashed at the end of the STOLport runway.
“I believe the pilot may have attempted to make a safe landing as the helicopter was right at the end of the runway.
“If it had crashed further away from the runway and into the forest, it would have been more difficult for us to conduct the rescue operation and recover the victims,” he said.
Mohamad Zainal said the team departed Miri Airport at 10.21am on Tuesday for Ba Lai in Ulu Baram, with the flight taking about an hour.
From Ba Lai, the helicopter flew to Long Siut, a journey of about seven to eight minutes, before continuing to Long Lellang, where the crash occurred less than 10 minutes later.
Several witnesses reportedly saw the helicopter shortly before the crash and reported seeing smoke and flames before it went down.
Asked whether the pilot had made an emergency call before the crash, Mohamad Zainal said preliminary investigations found that the helicopter was not equipped with a voice recorder or black box.
He said the Air Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) would conduct further investigations to determine the cause of the crash and establish how the incident occurred.
On the helicopter’s maintenance history, he said its last maintenance was carried out on August 24.
“Following the maintenance, the helicopter could be used for up to 100 flight hours. So, the maintenance was carried out quite recently,” he said.
Mohamad Zainal said the helicopter had been used by the Health Ministry for its Flying Doctor Service (FDS) in Sarawak for about 17 years, since 2009.
During that period, he said it had conducted numerous operations supporting healthcare services in remote areas, particularly in Miri, Bintulu, Limbang, Marudi and Baram.
He described the five victims as “our heroes” who had served and provided healthcare services to people in rural areas.
A total of 67 personnel were involved in Tuesday’s recovery operation, comprising 19 police personnel, 15 Sarawak Fire and Rescue Department personnel, two Health Ministry personnel, three Malaysia Airports personnel, one representative from Layang-Layang Aerospace Sdn Bhd, 15 General Operations Force (GOF) personnel, four Civil Defence Force personnel and eight People’s Volunteer Corps (Rela) personnel. — The Borneo Post
