KUALA LUMPUR: First came the news, followed by shock and disbelief. As the nation mourns the tragedy involving a mid-air collision of two helicopters over at the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) base in Lumut, Perak, heart-wrenching posts and tributes began to flood social media platforms.
One such posting was a final interview of the late Commander Muhammad Firdaus Ramli, 44, by Buletin TV3 for its exclusive Raya coverage of border patrol in Sabah.
The interview, which was aired on TV3 on April 12, showed Firdaus giving an exclusive interview at the naval base based in Sabah before giving the crew a tour in the helicopter piloted by him.
Firdaus was among 10 people killed when the AW139 Maritime Operations Helicopter he was piloting collided with a Fennec helicopter yesterday.
Firdaus, the eldest of seven siblings, was the commanding officer of the navy's 503 Squadron. He left behind a wife and a child.
Earlier, a social media posting by the Royal Malaysian Navy 503 Squadron on April 19 left many netizens teary-eyed.
In the Facebook post, five crewmen from the squadron were seen waving to their comrades aboard two AW139 Maritime Operations Helicopters (HOM) when they departed from their base in Kota Kinabalu to Lumut, Perak.
The crew, led by Firdaus, who served as one of the pilots, has left their base in Kota Kinabalu for a rehearsal for the now-cancelled 90th Royal Malaysian Navy Day.
Meanwhile, the family of the late commander was still in shock over news of his death in the mid-air collision of two Royal Malaysian Navy helicopters at the Lumut naval yesterday.
Firdaus' sister, Syahira, said the family still finds it difficult to accept what happened.
The bodies of eight Muslim victims of yesterday's crash are expected to be taken to the 23rd Battalion of the Royal Malay Regiment for funeral prayers.
It is understood that the bodies will then be taken to their respective hometowns for burial.
Meanwhile, the two other non-Muslim victims will be taken to their residences for funeral arrangements.
The RMN has established an investigation board to probe the incident.