A pilot and four Ministry of Health personnel were confirmed dead after their Flying Doctor Service helicopter crashed near Long Lellang in Sarawak
PETALING JAYA: All five people aboard the BO-105 helicopter that crashed near the Long Lellang Short Take-Off and Landing (STOL) airport in Sarawak this afternoon have died, officials have confirmed.
Miri Resident and Miri Divisional Disaster Management Committee chairman Galong Luang confirmed the deaths when contacted by The Borneo Post.
“Unfortunately, all five onboard are deceased, as confirmed by reports from the fire and rescue department and health ministry,” he said, adding that the victims’ identities had not yet been officially released.
Separately, Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said the helicopter, which had departed from Miri, was crewed by a pilot and carried four Ministry of Health personnel a medical officer, an assistant medical officer, and two nurses who were on official duty at the time.
Local reports have identified the pilot as Captain Zainol, though the identities of the four health workers have yet to be formally confirmed by authorities.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) had earlier confirmed that the helicopter, registration number 9M-LLF, was operating a Flying Doctor Service (FDS) flight with five people on board, including the pilot, when it crashed. CAAM said it was notified of the incident by the Flight Information Service at 3.58pm, and that the Air Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), under the Ministry of Transport, would investigate in accordance with Part XXVI of the Civil Aviation Regulations 2016.
The aircraft, operated by Layang Layang Aerospace Sdn Bhd under the callsign Medic 3, had been flying the Miri–Ba Lai–Long Siut–Long Lellang sector when it went down at the end of Runway 04 at around 3.32pm. Images and videos from the scene showed the helicopter engulfed in flames with thick smoke rising from the wreckage.
Sarawak Police Commissioner Datuk Mohamad Zainal Abdullah earlier said a search and rescue team would need about 10 hours by road to reach the remote site from the Marudi district police headquarters, with police also seeking CAAM’s approval to deploy air support from Kuching Air Base, subject to haze conditions. Villagers in Long Lellang and members of the People’s Volunteer Corps (Rela) assisted at the scene, alongside Ministry of Health personnel.
Long Lellang is about 310km by road from Miri. The Flying Doctor Service was launched as a pilot project in Sarawak in September 1973 to improve healthcare access for remote communities. The BO-105 is a light, twin-engine helicopter originally developed in Germany and widely used worldwide in both civilian and military roles, including air rescue.
