RMN OFFICER IN ICU AFTER HELICOPTER EMERGENCY LANDING IN KLEBANG 

MELAKA, Jan 1 (Bernama) -- A Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) officer involved in a helicopter emergency landing in Klebang waters last night is currently receiving treatment in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Melaka Hospital.

Deputy Defence Minister Adly Zahari said Lieutenant Commander Afiq Muzani Abdul Aziz is being treated in the ward following lung complications. He is reported to be conscious and stable but still requires close monitoring by medical officers.

"Meanwhile, Senior Chief of Technician Marine Srimala (TMS) Mohammad Zullfika Mohiddi is still receiving treatment in the Yellow Zone of the Melaka Hospital Emergency and Trauma Department for injuries to his waist and right calf," Adly said after visiting both victims at the Melaka Hospital today.

Also present was the Deputy Chief of Navy, Vice Admiral Datuk Shamsuddin Ludin.

Adly added that two other victims - the pilot, Lieutenant Commander Muhamad Kamal Abdul Rani, and Lieutenant Mohammad Faiz Razali - have been discharged after receiving treatment at the same hospital today.

In the meantime, Adly said the RMN will conduct operations to salvage the helicopter wreckage today, which will then be transported to the Lumut RMN Base for technical evaluation.

He noted that a committee will be established to evaluate and identify the exact cause of the incident to ensure the future safety of officers and personnel.

"Our priority is to look for solutions to these issues because, if possible, we do not want such incidents to happen again in the future. Therefore, we will take all aspects into account in our evaluation, including our personnel and technical factors, such as the capabilities of our assets," he said.

Meanwhile, Mohammad Zullfika said that during the incident, he and his colleagues were waiting for their turn to perform a ‘hostage rescue demonstration’ for the celebration.

He said that the helicopter he was in was circling the air not far from the performance area before the crash occurred.

"We have been training for seven days for last night's performance. The weather was very good, the moon was bright, and the sky was clear. This incident was truly unexpected because we have trained many times, and it wasn't the first time we conducted training at night," he said.

Earlier, an RMN Super Lynx helicopter made an emergency landing in the waters off Pantai Klebang last night.

The RMN confirmed in a statement that the incident occurred at 10:50 pm while the aircraft was performing a flight demonstration in conjunction with the 60th Anniversary of the Malaysian Army's Special Service Group (Grup Gerak Khas - GGK).

Four aircrew members were on board during the incident; all were successfully rescued and taken to the Melaka Hospital for further examination and treatment.

-- BERNAMA