KUALA LUMPUR, April 23 — Ten members of the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) are confirmed dead in an incident where two helicopters collided and crashed at the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) Base in Lumut, Perak this morning.
The Strategic Communications Branch of the Naval Headquarters in a statement said the incident at 9.32 am involved 10 crew members comprising seven crews of the Maritime Operations Helicopter (HOM-AW139) and three RMN Fennec crews.
"All the victims were confirmed dead at the scene and sent to the Lumut RMN Base Military Hospital for the identification process," according to the statement here, today.
The statement said RMN will establish an Investigation Board to identify the cause of the incident.
RMN also requested the public not to share photographs or videos of the incident in order to protect the sensitivity of the family members of the deceased and the investigation process.
Earlier, a video went viral on social media showing a helicopter hitting the back of another helicopter before both planes crashed.
It is understood that the incident occurred during the flypass practice for RMN’s 90th anniversary celebration scheduled for early next month.
— Bernama
