Long lellang: A total of 20 personnel from various agencies were mobilised to Long Lellang this morning for a search and rescue (SAR) operation following a helicopter crash yesterday. The Sarawak Public Communications Unit (UKAS) said the team comprised, among others, personnel from the Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) and police.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the movement to Long Lellang using a JBPM helicopter was planned in stages, with the first flight carrying the operations team, followed by a flight carrying the police forensic team. Prior to the deployment, an operational briefing was held at the Sarawak JBPM Regional Air Base in Miri, as stated in a posting on UKAS's social media account today.

The SAR team was understood to have departed for the crash site at 11 am today. Yesterday, the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) reported that a BO-105 helicopter carrying five people, including the pilot, crashed near the Long Lellang Short Take-Off and Landing Airport (STOLport).

According to CAAM, it received information on the incident from the Flight Information Service at 3.58 pm, and the helicopter was conducting a flying doctor services (FDS) flight operation.