Elmina plane crash: Six bodies retrieved so far

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A total of six bodies were retrieved so far from the scene where an aircraft crashed earlier, near Elmina.

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain said of the six bodies, one was intact, while the remaining five were incomplete.

The intact one was a motorcyclist, and the police are currently contacting the victim’s next of kin.

He added all the remains will be taken to Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital (HTAR) for post-mortem.

“We have also prepared for the next of kin to do DNA match at the Klang Selatan district police headquarters,” he told a press conference.

Razarudin said about a 0.4ha area around the crash site was cordoned off, to retrieve the remaining bodies from the crash site area.

“Right now, our focus is to retrieve the bodies before we can carry out the investigations.

Asyraf Hamzah/NST

“Also, we want to retrieve all the debris on the road so that the area can be open for the road users.”

He added a total of 240 personnel involved in the operation, namely the police, fire and rescue department, Civil Defence Force (APM), Health Ministry, the Subang Airport Fire and Rescue Service (AFRS), GCE-Prolintas and Shah Alam City Council among others.

The remains of the victims of the plane crash were described as being “in pieces and scattered.”

This was confirmed by Selangor police chief, Datuk Hussein Omar Khan, during a press conference with Transport Minister Anthony Loke at the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport.

“The bodies were not intact and were scattered due to the impact of the crash,” he said.

Police had earlier confirmed that at least 10 people had died in the incident, which took place at 2.40pm.

Hussein said the victims were in their 40s and 50s. Six were passengers while two were crew members.

The other two, he said, comprised a motorcyclist as well as a motorist who was on the road when the plane crashed.

The private aircraft had departed from Langkawi en route to Subang but crashed two minutes prior to landing.

Loke said the aviation authorities, police and investigators are scouring the site of the crash for the plane’s black box.

He also revealed that the private jet had veered off course before it plunged to the ground, killing everyone on board.

“Early indications show that the private jet had veered off its flight path and banked to the right,” Loke told.

“Investigations are ongoing, and the priority is to look for the jet’s black box so we can find out what happened.

Hari Anggara

“For now, apart from what has been reported, this is all that we have. I will also read out the names of the deceased that we obtained from the flight manifest.

“This is just the manifest and efforts to identify the bodies are ongoing. As for the identity of the two civilians on the ground who were killed during the crash, we are still trying to find out who they are,” he added.

The names of the flight crew are pilots Shahrul Kamal Roslan and Heikal Aras Abdul Azim.

As for the private jet’s passengers, they were listed in the passenger manifest as Kharil Azwan Jamaludin, Shaharul Amir Omar, Mohamad Mohamed Muaidi, Datuk Seri Johari Harun, Muhammad Taufiq Mohd Zaki and Idris Abdol Talib @ Ramali.

Datuk Seri Johari Harun was a Pahang exco member and Pelangai assemblyman. He was 54.

Loke said the private jet had initially made contact with the Subang Air Traffic Control Tower at 2.47pm and landing clearance was given at 2.48pm.

Three minutes later 2.51pm, the Subang Air Traffic Control Tower observed smoke originating from the crash site, but no mayday call was made by the private jet.

The private jet, a Beechcraft Model 390 (Premier 1) with the registration number N28JV, was operated by Jetvalet Sdn Bhd.

Meanwhile, a picture has emerged of five passengers seated in the aircraft with Johari seated on the left, all of whom were in good spirits at the time the picture was taken.

The crew and passengers on board the aircraft allegedly took a final photograph on board before departing on the ill-fated flight.

Earlier, it was reported that an eyewitness who saw the aircraft crash tragedy said the plane was flying erratically before it hit the ground.

Mohd Syahmie Md Hashim, who was formerly with the Royal Malaysian Air Force, said he was on his way to Paya Jaras to deliver goods when he spotted the plane.

“It appeared to be flying erratically. Not long after that, I heard a loud boom,” he said.

Syahmie, 31, said he thought the flames came from a burning factory.

“I sped towards the location and saw the remains of an aircraft.

“I also saw human remains on fire. I couldn’t do anything,” he told Harian Metro.

He said he asked other witnesses in the area, who told him that the aircraft had dipped and also crashed into a motorcycle.