KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 6 — A ground worker was killed when a Bell 206 L4 helicopter caught fire while landing to refuel in Bentong, Pahang, this morning.
Pahang Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM public relations officer Zulfadli Zakaria confirmed the incident, adding that the helicopter’s pilot survived the fire.
The incident occurred near a hot spring along the old Kuala Lumpur-Bentong road.
The victim’s body was transported to Bentong Hospital.
In a statement, the Pahang JBPM operations centre reported that six Bentong Fire and Rescue Station personnel arrived at the scene at 10.52am.
“Witnesses reported that the helicopter lost control and overturned while landing.
“The ground crew member, an Indonesian engineer, was fatally injured by the helicopter’s rotor blades,” the statement read.
The pilot, also an Indonesian national, escaped unhurt, but the helicopter was completely destroyed in the blaze.
Firefighters quickly began efforts to extinguish the blaze using water hoses from the fire engine’s tank.
Meanwhile, the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia said in a statement today that the chopper, leased and operated by MHS Aviation Bhd, was conducting an aerial work flight.
The latest update from the operator, received at 10.18am by the Flight Information Services at the Kuala Lumpur Air Traffic Control Centre, indicated the helicopter was preparing to land at a designated site.
“Further investigations will be carried out by the Air Accident Investigation Bureau under the Transport Ministry, in accordance with Part XXVI of the Civil Aviation Regulations 2016,” the statement added.
— Bernama
