Five helicopter crash victims honoured posthumously

KUCHING: Five victims of the Flying Doctor Service (FDS) helicopter crash in Long Lellang last month have been awarded the Pegawai Bintang Sarawak (PBS) posthumously.

The recipients are the late Alexon Adit Henry, Debra Moset, Dr Ainul Baraah Kamarudin, Jessie Paya Jok and Zainol Afiq Bee Sham.

The honours are conferred in conjunction with the 80th birthday of Sarawak Head of State Tun Pehin Sri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar.

All five lost their lives when the FDS helicopter crashed near the Long Lellang short take-off and landing (STOL) airstrip in Marudi district on Sept 8.

The aircraft was carrying pilot Zainol Afiq, 30, medical officer Dr Ainul Baraah, 33, assistant medical officer Alexon, 31, and staff nurses Debra, 40, and Jessie, 44.

The helicopter, an MBB Bo 105 bearing registration number 9M-LLF, had departed from Miri Airport before crashing at approximately 3.40 pm.

Post-mortem examinations later confirmed that all five victims died from severe burn injuries.

The cause of the crash is being investigated by the Air Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) and the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM).