Ten dead after two Royal Malaysian Navy helicopters collide in Malaysia

Ten people were killed this morning in Malaysia after two military helicopters collided in the air during a flypast rehearsal and crashed. The accident occurred in the lead-up to a parade of the Royal Malaysian Navy, according to a statement.

Footage of the tragedy (see below) shows how things go terribly wrong during the flypast rehearsal. Seven helicopters fly low in formation. When two helicopters break formation and turn to the right, one suddenly hits the tail rotor of the other. The aircraft spin around and then plummet like a brick.

The ten deceased were all crew members of the helicopters. One aircraft was an AgustaWestland AW139 HOM (registered M503-3) carrying seven people, and the other a Eurocopter AS 555SN Fennec (registered M502-6) with three occupants.

“The two helicopters collided during a training flight. The death of the ten victims has been confirmed by military doctors,” said Suhaimy Mohamad Suhail, an official from the emergency services, in a statement.

The incident occurred at 09:32 local time (01:32 UTC) above a stadium at the Lumut Royal Malaysian Navy base in the western state of Perak, according to the navy. The bodies have been taken to a military hospital for identification, and an investigation into the cause of the tragedy has been launched.