A Flying Doctor Service helicopter carrying five people crashed near Long Lellang STOL airport in Sarawak, with casualties yet to be confirmed.
PETALING JAYA: A BO-105 helicopter carrying five people, including the pilot, crashed near the Long Lellang Short Take-Off and Landing (STOL) airport in northern Sarawak, about 929km from Kuching, this afternoon.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) said it was notified of the incident by the Flight Information Service at 3.58pm. The aircraft, registration number 9M-LLF, was operating a Flying Doctor Service (FDS) flight at the time. CAAM’s statement did not mention any casualties, and confirmed the Air Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) under the Transport Ministry will investigate in line with Part XXVI of the Civil Aviation Regulations 2016.
Sarawak Deputy Minister in the Premier’s Department (Labour, Immigration and Project Monitoring) Datuk Gerawat Gala, who is also the Mulu assemblyman, confirmed the crash after being alerted by residents in Long Lellang. He said he in turn informed Layang Layang Aerospace Sdn Bhd, the company operating the helicopter under the FDS programme.
“I have been informed about the helicopter crash in Long Lellang. I have also informed the managing pilot of Layang-Layang, and I am sure they will alert the necessary search and rescue authorities,” he reportedly said.
Gerawat said he could not confirm the number of casualties, how many passengers were on board beyond the reported five, or the helicopter’s point of departure, saying such details would need to come from Layang-Layang. He said the aircraft was heading towards Long Lellang when the crash occurred, and noted that photos and videos of the incident believed to have been taken by local residents had already begun circulating widely on social media before he could verify them.
“I think those must be the same photographs that were sent to me. It has gone viral all over the place now,” he said, adding that he would await official confirmation from the relevant authorities on the number of people involved and whether there were any casualties.
Marudi police chief DSP Nor Aizan Mohd Jamil told The Borneo Post that police had yet to receive any formal report on the incident.
Separately, preliminary information reaching Miri Airport Fire and Rescue Services identified the aircraft’s callsign as Medic 3, with the pilot named as Captain Zainol. Early, unofficial reports suggest there may have been no survivors, though this has not yet been confirmed by the authorities.
Long Lellang STOLport, located next to Long Lellang village roughly 310km by road from Miri, serves a remote part of the Baram interior, including Kelabit and Penan communities. The Flying Doctor Service was first introduced as a pilot project in Sarawak in September 1973 to improve healthcare access in hard-to-reach areas.
