10 dead as Malaysian navy helicopters collide mid-air during training

 Two Malaysian military helicopters collided mid-air and
crashed, killing all 10 crew members onboard.

The incident happed early Tuesday near the naval base in
Lumut, some 200 kilometres north-west of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia’s capital city.

Mohamed Nordin, defence minister, said the aircraft — a
maritime operations helicopter and a Fennec military chopper — were rehearsing
for a parade celebrating the 90th anniversary of the Royal Malaysian Navy, due
to be held on Saturday.

One of the helicopters which was said to be carrying seven
crew members onboard crashed in a stadium, while the other which had three
passengers spiralled down near a swimming pool.

Videos circulating on social media showed several
helicopters flying in formation, when one of the choppers’ rotor clipped
another before both aircraft crashed into the ground.

2 Helicopters with the Royal Malaysian Navy collided earlier today over the Town of Lumut during a Rehearsal for Annual Naval Parade resulting in the Death of all 10 of the Crewmembers; the Helicopters, a AgustaWestland AW139HOM (M503-3) and a AS550 Fennec (M502-6) both Crashed… pic.twitter.com/Z0IwdpMVbG

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) April 23, 2024

Photos of the crash showed the completely destroyed remains
of the aircraft.

Nordin said efforts are underway to verify the identities of
the crew members killed, all of whom were below the age of 40.

Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysia’s prime minister, described the
tragedy as “heart-wrenching” and “a great loss for the country”.

 “Condolences to all
the families of the victims and prayers for strength to face this calamity,”
Ibrahim added.

The Royal Malaysian Navy said it would establish a committee
to investigate the cause of the incident.