Ammon News - Five people, including medical staff, died after a "flying doctor" service helicopter crashed in ​Malaysia on Tuesday, authorities and state news agency reports ‌said, as haze from wildfires complicated search efforts.

Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad in a statement said initial information showed a pilot and four ministry staff ​were aboard the chopper that crashed near Sarawak state's ​Long Lellang short take-off and landing airport. Among them ⁠were a medical officer, an assistant medical officer, and ​two nurses on official duty, he said.

A disaster management committee official ​in Miri, Sarawak confirmed to state news agency Bernama that all five aboard died in the crash.

A "flying doctor" service typically uses aircraft to provide ​medical care, emergency transport and clinical services to rural or ​isolated regions.

Search operations on Tuesday had been complicated by hazy conditions, with rescuers ‌barred ⁠from using air services, Sarawak police commissioner Mohamad Zainal Abdullah said in a statement. The crash site was in a remote area that required a 10-hour journey by road, he added.

The ​civil aviation authority ​said the ⁠transport ministry's air accident investigations bureau was investigating the incident.

Sarawak, on Borneo island, has been hard-hit ​by haze arising from forest fires in neighbouring ​Indonesia, with ⁠many areas recording unhealthy air quality levels, government data showed on Wednesday. Malaysia declared an emergency last week in Sarawak's Serian district ⁠after ​air pollution rose to hazardous levels, though ​the declaration was later lifted following improvements in air quality.


Reuters