Villager drowns in attempt to rescue passengers on crashed plane
All on board survive Malaysian air force plane crash
A Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) plane crashed near a beach in Kuala Selangor yesterday morning due to engine failure.
All the eight officers on board survived, but a villager drowned in a rescue attempt.
The crew, led by the pilot, Major Mohd Azri Yacob, 41, made an emergency landing in shallow waters off a swampy beach area near Taman Malawati Utama.
The crash caused a fire with smoke that could be seen from a distance, The Star reported.
Kuala Selangor district police chief Ruslan Abdullah said a fisherman drowned while trying to help the officers out of the CN235 aircraft.
He said the fisherman, part of a group around the area at the time who rushed to give help, drowned because his foot got stuck in the mud.
The co-pilot, Major Ahmad Syazwan Mohammed, 32, broke his left arm, while the others on board escaped without major injuries.
"RMAF are investigating the cause of the accident and will remove the plane, which has become stuck in the sand, from the crash site," Supt Ruslan said.
"It could take up to two days. The police and Bomba (fire and rescue department officers) will remain here to render any help to RMAF."
A resident who lives about 500m from the crash site said RMAF jets flying over his neighbourhood were a common sight.
"I heard a very strange noise - not an explosion but more like an object hitting the ground. Then I went out and I saw a lot of smoke coming from there," he said.
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