Five people died when a "flying doctor" service helicopter crashed in Malaysia on Tuesday, authorities said, as haze from Indonesian wildfires complicated search efforts.
Health minister, Dzulkefly Ahmad, said in a statement that initial information showed a pilot and four health ministry staff were aboard the helicopter when it crashed near Long Lellang short take-off and landing airport in Sarawak, on the island of Borneo.
Those on board included a medical officer, an assistant medical officer, and two nurses who were on official duty, he said.
A disaster management committee official in Miri, Sarawak, confirmed to the state news agency Bernama that all five people aboard had died in the crash.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia said the helicopter, a Bo-105, was carrying five people when it crashed after the Flight Information Service notified the authority of the incident at 3.58pm the previous day.
Investigators from the Air Accident Investigation Bureau are expected to arrive in Miri at 2pm on Wednesday to begin examining the crash, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia's chief executive, Datuk Captain Norazman Mahmud, quoted by the New Straits Times.
"The helicopter wreckage at the crash site will remain undisturbed following instructions from the AAIB," he said. "The site has been cordoned off and secured."
Search and recovery operations were set to resume on Wednesday, with a Fire and Rescue Department helicopter carrying 18 personnel departing Miri for Long Lellang at 7am.
Two police helicopters carrying 11 personnel were due to join the operation, along with four police officers from Long Lama and four Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency personnel from Miri. Police are expected to oversee the identification of victims at Miri Hospital, including DNA comparisons with their families.
Malaysia’s "flying doctor" service typically uses aircraft to provide medical care, emergency transport, and clinical services to rural or isolated regions.
Search operations on Tuesday were hampered by hazy conditions, with rescuers barred from using air services, Sarawak police commissioner Mohamad Zainal Abdullah said in a statement. He added that the crash site was in a remote area requiring a ten-hour journey by road.
Sarawak has been badly affected by haze from forest fires in neighbouring Indonesia, with many areas recording unhealthy air quality levels, according to government data released on Wednesday. Malaysia declared an emergency last week in Sarawak's Serian district after air pollution reached hazardous levels, though the declaration was lifted after air quality improved.
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