Malaysian navy helicopters collide mid-air during rehearsals, leaves 10 dead | Watch

Two Malaysian navy helicopters collided into each other in midair in Lumut, Malaysia, on Tuesday, April 23, leaving all the ten crew of the choppers dead, the Perak Fire and Rescue Department confirmed.

The two helicopters--HOM (M503-3) and Fennec (M502-6)--collided and subsequently crashed at 9:32 am, the Royal Malaysian Navy reported.

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The video of the air crash, which occurred near the Malaysian town of Lumut, is viral on social media. All the crew members aboard the two helicopters succumbed to the injuries, leaving no survivors, Malaysian news media outlets reported.

The video footage of the collision and the subsequent crash shows one of the helicopters getting stuck to the rotor of the other, leading to the crash. As per media reports, one of the choppers crashed onto a track while the other crashed into a swimming pool nearby.

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“The department was alerted to an emergency call at 9.50 am regarding a helicopter incident at the Lumut Royal Malaysian Navy stadium in Manjung, Perak,” the Malaysian rescue department was quoted as saying. 

As per the Royal Malaysian Navy's statement, the helicopters were rehearsing for the Navy’s 90th anniversary event that was scheduled from May 3 to May 5. The statement further mentioned that the HOM (M503-3) helicopter was carrying seven people and the remaining three were aboard the Fennec (M502-6) helicopter.

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The press release stated, “All the victims were confirmed dead at the scene and were subsequently transported to the Lumut Royal Malaysian Navy Base military hospital for identification purposes.” 

Rescue teams are reportedly working to retrieve the dead bodies and a probe panel is being set up to investigate the incident.