MANJUNG: Witnesses who saw the deadly mid-air collision involving two Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) helicopters in Lumut, Perak today said the incident happened in a split second.
One eyewitness, who declined to be named, said after making contact in mid-air, the helicopters spun before plummeting to the ground.
"It happened within a split second. There were no explosions or sparks. However, when they crashed on the ground, there was smoke but it eventually dissipated," said the eyewitness.
He said although stunned, he tried to make his way to the crash to help any possible survivors. However, there were no survivors.
"It was chaotic. However, medical personnel are always on standby even during rehearsals," he said.
In the 9.30am incident, two helicopters participating in the rehearsal for the upcoming 90th Navy Day celebration had collided in mid-air and crashed to the ground.
The tragedy claimed the lives of 10 crew members on board both helicopters.
Among those who perished were three female navy personnel, namely Warrant Officer II TNL Noorfarahimi Mohd Saedy, Petty Officer TNL Noor Rahiza Anuar and Able Rate JJM Joanna Felicia Rohna.
They were passengers onboard the M503-3 Maritime Operations Helicopter (HOM).
The two commanding officers who perished were Commanding Officer of Squadron 503, Commander Muhammad Firdaus Ramli and Commanding Officer of Squadron 502, Commander Muhamad Amir Mohamad.
Defence Minister Datuk Seri Khaled Nordin said the planned 90th Navy Day anniversary celebrations has been cancelled following the tragedy.
The event will instead be replaced with a 'doa selamat', as per a decree by the Sultan of Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, who is also the RMN Captain-In-Chief.