In a statement, the department said medical officers confirmed their deaths at the scene.
“The department was alerted to an emergency call at 9.50am regarding a helicopter incident at the Lumut Royal Malaysian Navy stadium in Manjung, Perak,” it said, adding that teams from nearby stations were dispatched to the scene.
A 21-second video of the incident that has gone viral on social media shows one helicopter crashing into the tail of another mid-air, and both diving to the ground after that.
Fragments of the helicopters are seen flying through the air and landing near an open field where naval members were assembled.
It is understood that they were rehearsing for the Navy’s 90th anniversary event.
In a statement, the Royal Malaysian Navy confirmed that two helicopters, identified as models HOM (M503-3) and Fennec (M502-6), had collided and subsequently crashed in the 9.32am incident.
The navy said the incident involved a total of 10 individuals, with the HOM (M503-3) helicopter carrying seven people and the remaining three aboard the Fennec (M502-6).
“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,” it said.
The navy said it would establish an investigation board to determine the cause of the incident.
“We ask the public not to share videos of the incident to respect the sensitivities of the affected families and to facilitate the investigation process,” it said.
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