PETALING JAYA: The helicopter which crashed in Cameron Highlands this afternoon was ferrying the Kinta district health office’s Flying Doctor personnel, said health minister Khairy Jamaluddin.
In a statement, Khairy said the unit was on its way back to Ipoh after a visit to an Orang Asli village in Gua Musang, Kelantan, when the helicopter was forced to make an emergency landing at a forested area at around 1pm.
He confirmed that all six victims were safe. Apart from the pilot, the helicopter was also ferrying a doctor and four medical staff.
“As at 7pm, four injured victims have been moved from the crash site to the treatment zone (at the crash site) for medical evaluation,” he said.
“Two victims have been transferred to the Sultanah Hajjah Kalsom Hospital in Cameron Highlands for further evaluation while two others are still at the treatment zone.
“The remaining two victims are being taken out of the crash site to the treatment zone.”
Meanwhile, transport minister Wee Ka Siong said the ministry’s air accident investigation bureau would be investigating the crash.
In a Facebook post, he also said the investigating officers would be asked to improve and maintain safety compliance inspections among private operators in the local aviation industry.
“They have to be more alert, especially considering the bad weather currently. I am monitoring the situation with updates provided by the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) from time to time,” he said.
Earlier today, CAAM said it was notified of the incident involving an Airbus AS 355 F2 helicopter at 1.03pm. The crash occurred near Tanah Rata, Cameron Highlands.
In a Bernama report, the helicopter’s operator, Layang Layang Aerospace Sdn Bhd, said the aircraft was transporting medical personnel to Tanjung Rambutan after serving the rural area of Kampung Gawin when it lost contact with the company’s flight operations centre.
Group general manager Shahdon Poong said the victims’ families had been notified and assistance would be provided.
He added that the safety team would work closely with the transport ministry’s air accident investigation bureau to determine the cause of the accident. - FMT
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