LUMUT, April 23 — All events in conjunction with the 90th Anniversary of the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) celebration parade scheduled to start this Saturday (April 27) at the Lumut RMN Base have been cancelled and replaced with tahlil and doa selamat sessions.
Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said the decision was made as a courtesy to the families and next-of-kin of 10 officers and members of RMN who died in the crash of two helicopters this morning.
“The cancellation includes the parade this week in conjunction with the anniversary at the RMN Base here, as well as the Armada Open Day scheduled from May 3 to May 5.
“The Sultan of Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah Alhaj, who is also RMN’s Captain-in-Chief, consented to the cancellation of the celebration, and His Royal Highness will also attend a tahlil and doa selamat ceremony,” he said in a press conference today.
Also present were the Malaysian Armed Forces chief General Tan Sri Mohamad Ab Rahman and RMN deputy chief Vice Admiral Datuk Zulhelmy Ithnain.
Khaled, who inspected the crash site, said preliminary investigations have revealed that all 10 victims died at the scene of the incident in the swimming pool area and the RMN Stadium of the RMN Sports Complex.
“A military personnel who was in the swimming pool area also suffered minor injuries as a result of being hit by debris from the helicopter in the incident.
“All the family members of the victims involved were taken to Lumut, including those in Kota Kinabalu who will be flown using a Royal Malaysian Air Force aircraft, and I understand that they are expected to arrive this afternoon,” he said.
All the victims have been taken to Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital in Ipoh for post-mortem, and the remains will be handed over to the families of the victims for burial in their respective hometowns.
— Bernama
