KUALA LUMPUR: The Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) said its search and rescue team is still scouring for the wreckage of its missing RMAF Hawk 108 trainer jet which went missing yesterday.
RMAF chief General Datuk Seri Affendi Buang said as the presumed crash site is swampy, it has been difficult to locate the wreckage from the air.
A lack of smoke and fire from the wreckage has also hampered search efforts, he added.
"This will take some time, maybe a few weeks (but) we hope to find it soon," he told reporters after attending the burial ceremony of Major Yazmi Mohd Yusof, 39, at the Titiwangsa Muslim Cemetery here today.
Affendi said he has also instructed an investigation team to look into the cause of the accident.
Pending the results of the investigation, the military has grounded the Hawks for the time being, he said.
Affendi noted that there was no burnt wreckage where they bodies of the two pilots were found.
He added that the parachutes they were wearing appeared to have launched when the search and rescue party found them.
Yazmi, 39, and fellow pilot Major Mohd Hasri Zahari, 31, were found dead at Chukai, Terengganu yesterday afternoon following the disappearance of the RMAF Hawk 108 trainer jet they were in.
Meanwhile, Deputy Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Johari Baharom said the armed forces will not neglect the welfare of the pilots' families.
He said the families will be supported financially until all the children have completed their tertiary education.
"The Defence Ministry is also looking at possible posthumous promotion for the pilots.
"We have lost two very experienced pilots," Johari added.