Two commanding officers (COs) of the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) Helicopter Squadron were identified among the 10 casualties in yesterday’s crash involving two helicopters of the unit.
All ten navy personnel who perished in the crash at the Lumut naval base have been identified.
The collision between the two helicopters occurred mid-air during a rehearsal for the 90th Navy Day Parade at the naval base.
One helicopter, the M503-3 Maritime Operations Helicopter (HOM) carried four crew members and three passengers, whilst the other, a Fennec (M502-6), had three people on board.
Flight M503-3 HOM
- Commander Muhammad Firdaus bin Ramli RMN Squadron Commanding Officer 503.
- Lieutenant Commander Wan Rezaudeen Kamal bin Wan Zainal Abidin RMN.
- Lieutenant Commander Mohammad Amirulfaris bin Mohamad Marzukhi RMN.
- Warrant Officer II TLR (AQM) Muhammad Faisol bin Tamadun.
- Warrant Officer II TNL Noorfarahimi binti Mohd Saedy (Passenger).
- Petty Officer TNL Noor Rahiza binti Anuar (Passenger).
- Able Seaman I JJM Joanna Felicia anak Rohna (Passenger).
Top row from left: Commander Muhamad Amir bin Mohamad,Lieutenant Sivasutan a/l Thanjappan, Warrant Officer II TMK Mohd Shahrizan bin Mohd Termizi,Commander Muhammad Firdaus bin Ramli & Lieutenant Commander Wan Rezaudeen Kamal bin Wan Zainal Abidin. Bottom row from left: Lieutenant Commander Mohammad Amirulfaris bin Mohamad, Warrant Officer II TLR (AQM) Muhammad Faisol bin Tamadun, Able Seaman I JJM Joanna Felicia anak Rohna, Warrant Officer II TNL Noorfarahimi binti Mohd Saedy & Petty Officer TNL Noor Rahiza Anuar.
Flight Fennec (M502-6)
- Commander Muhamad Amir bin Mohamad RMN Squadron Commanding Officer 502.
- Lieutenant Sivasutan a/l Thanjappan RMN.
- Warrant Officer II TMK Mohd Shahrizan bin Mohd Termizi.
The tragedy marks the worst helicopter crash in the country.
Perak police chief Datuk Seri Mohd Yusri Hassan Basri said the HOM-AW139 helicopter crashed on the RMN Lumut Stadium field, while the Fennec aircraft crashed into the Navy Sports Complex swimming pool. All the families of the victims have been informed for identification purposes.
The post-mortem for the victims is currently underway at the Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital (HRPB) in Ipoh, after all of them were recovered from the two aircraft wreckage sites earlier.
Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said the 10 victims were based in Lumut and Kota Kinabalu, adding that the RMN will set up an investigation board to identify the cause of the incident.