THE STAR
KUCHING: A body, believed to be that of the pilot of the fatal helicopter crash in Sarawak, has been found in the Batang Lupar river.
KUCHING: A body, believed to be that of the pilot of the fatal helicopter crash in Sarawak, has been found in the Batang Lupar river.
State police said Monday that the body was found in Triso, about 5.5km from the Lingga jetty.
Sarawak police commissioner Datuk Seri Mohammad Sabtu Osman said the identity of the body could only be determined by the forensics department of the Sarawak General Hospital.
The body will be flown from Lingga to Kuching for the identification process said Sabtu.
He added that the search for the helicopter debris would continue to go on.
Killed in the crash on Thursday were six people, including Deputy Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Noriah Kasnon and ministry secretary-general Datuk Dr Sundaran Annamalai.
Also on board were Kuala Kangsar MP Datuk Wan Mohammad Khai-ril Anuar Wan Ahmad, Noriah’s personal bodyguard Ahmad Sobri Harun, as well as the pilot, Capt Rudolf Rex Ragas.
As of Sunday the bodies of the five passengers had been recovered and only that of the Filipino pilot remained unaccounted for.
Air traffic controllers lost contact with the helicopter at 4.32pm last Thursday after taking off from Betong at 4.12pm. It was on its way to Kuching.
