Everything We Know So Far About The Helicopter Carrying VIPs That Went Missing In Sarawak

The body believed to be of Captain Rudolf Rex Ragas was found about 10.35am yesterday, 9 May, ending a four-day search of all six victims of the crash. He piloted the ill-fated Eurocopter AS350.

The body was brought to the Sarawak General Hospital mortuary for autopsy and identification.

The AS350B helicopter registered in Cebu, the Philippines crashed last Thursday while en route from Betong to Kuching. All six passengers onboard were killed.

A bloated, fully-clothed male body, thought to be from the fatal helicopter crash, was found floating in Batang Lupar by Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) officers at 12.04pm, reported The Malay Mail Online.

MMEA officers spotted the body floating and drifting with the current. Afterwards, it was taken by van to the Sarawak general hospital, where a post mortem will be carried out.

According to a report in The Malay Mail Online, Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said that investigations are ongoing to determine the cause of the crash, where three bodies have been discovered by search authorities so far.

“The mission today will cover an area of 875-kilometre square feet. Yesterday, we covered about 2,850-kilometre square feet,” Liow was quoted as saying.

Sarawak Fire and Rescue Department Assistant Director Farhan Sufyan Borhan has said that they have recovered one more body at 8.34am on Saturday in Lingga, Batang Lupar. The body, which was still strapped to the seat, is believed to be related to the helicopter crash.

Meanwhile, yesterday they had recovered the body of Plantation Industries and Commodities Deputy Minister Noriah Kasnon. She was buried last night at a cemetery in Sungai Burung, Sungai Besar, Selangor.

There are four more bodies left to be recovered.

The SAR (search and rescue) teams looking for the missing helicopter carrying several VIPs have discovered a piece of debris believed to be from the missing copter. According to Astro Awani, the SAR team found the piece from the AS350 helicopter next to a river in Batang Lupar, in Sarawak at about 9:50am Friday morning.

PM Najib announced the news of the discovery at a press conference at the office of the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) in Kuching.

“The search and rescue operations will continue until they find the main body (of the helicopter. I was informed that they were found near a river in Batang Lupar. The operations will be challenging as the river is considered wide,” he said.

Speaking to Bernama, the Director General of Civil Aviation Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, who confirmed the incident, said, "The helicopter took off from Betong at about 4.12pm and was supposed to arrive Kuching around 5pm."

The helicopter RP-C 6828 was being piloted by Captain Rudolf Rex Ragas.

The three other individuals in the helicopter are, namely:

The Ministry's Secretary-General Dr Sundaran Annamalai, Kuala Kangsar MP and Malaysian Palm Oil Board Member Wan Mohammad Khair-il Anuar Wan Ahmad and personal bodyguard Ahmad Sobri Harun, reported Malaysiakini.