Two Malaysian navy had in a statement revealed that two helicopters had on Tuesday, collided in mid-air during a rehearsal for a naval parade, killing all 10 crew members aboard.
According to the navy, the incident had occurred at the Lumut naval base in the western state of Perak at 9.32 a.m. on Tuesday morning (01:32 GMT), the navy said.
“All victims were confirmed dead at the scene and sent to the Lumut naval base military hospital for identification.”
Meanwhile, a video circulating on local media showed several helicopters flying in formation, until one of the choppers’ rotor clipped another before both aircraft crashed into the ground. The local policemen have confirmed that footage was genuine.
The navy has meanwhile, said it would carry out an investigation into the cause of the accident.
The Malaysian Defence Minister, Mohamed Khaled Nordin has said that 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, slated to hold on Saturday.
At the time of this press report, efforts are underway to verify the identities of the crew members who were killed, but it has been reported that all of were below the age of 40, according to Mohamed Khaled.
