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RMAF cordon off forest area at suspected RMAF Hawk 108 crash site

KEMAMAN: Three Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) men have cordoned off a secondary forest area along Jalan Chukai-Ibok here, where wreckage of the RMAF Hawk 108 advanced jet trainer which crashed near Kampung Yah Yah here yesterday is believed to have been found.

The trio, armed with machetes to clear the underbrush, emerged from a peat swamp forest area at 11.10am, having walked from the suspected wreckage site to the main road to seal off the area from the public.

Curious villagers and bystanders gathered along the road shoulder, hoping to catch a glimpse of the wreckage from a distance. However, the trees and tall grass blocked their view.

Questions posed by members of the media to the three men, whose pants were soaked from the knees down, went unanswered as they politely announced that they could not provide any information.

It is learnt that the wreckage site is located some 250 metres from the main road, and that the area is only accessible by heavy vehicles.

Major Yazmi Mohamed Yusof, 39, and fellow pilot Major Mohd Hasri Zahari, 31, were found dead at Chukai, Terengganu on Thursday afternoon following the disappearance of the RMAF Hawk 108 trainer jet that the duo was in.

The RMAF lost contact with the aircraft half an hour after it departed from the RMAF Kuantan air base at 11am.

The duo's bodies, still attached to their parachutes, were found by the RMAF search and rescue (SAR) team in a swampy area in Chukai at 2.30pm yesterday.

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