IPOH, April 23 – Tragedy struck during a rehearsal for the Royal Malaysian Navy’s 90th anniversary celebration as two military helicopters collided near TLDM’s Lumut naval base today. The incident occurred at 9:32 am during a fly-over exercise, involving an AgustaWestland AW139 maritime operation helicopter and a Eurocopter Fennec light-size counterpart. TLDM confirmed that all victims onboard were tragically killed in the collision, with their remains sent to TLDM Military Hospital for identification.
An investigation body will be formed to determine the cause of the incident. TLDM urged the public to refrain from sharing videos of the incident out of respect for the families of the deceased and to preserve the integrity of the investigation. This unfortunate event follows previous incidents involving national security forces’ aircraft, including a Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency helicopter crash during rescue drills last month and a light aircraft crash near Kapar, Selangor in February. Perak police chief Yusri Hassan Basri confirmed the incident, stating that further reports on casualties are forthcoming.
