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Saturday July 30, 2005

Crash survivor found, one still missing

By Sharon Ling

SIBU: Razali Hassan of the Mapping and Survey Department was found alive after rescuers got to him yesterday morning, a day after cries for help were heard at the helicopter crash site in Bukit Batu Tiban, Ulu Baleh, in Kapit division.

Razali Hassan (with scarf) sporting a huge smile and waving to a reconnaissance helicopter yesterday when a team of rescuers found him at the site of the Bell 206 Long Ranger helicopter crash in the interior of Sarawak. Razali, 48, was the only one of the four on board found alive. Pilot Capt Razali Sani, 48, and army corporal Empeni anak Karong, 32, were killed in the crash. Passenger Ramli Jamal, 35, is still missing.
Razali, 48, who suffered several injuries including a broken right arm and cuts to his left eye, head and left arm, survived four days at the site of the wreckage, deep down a cliff.

He has however yet to be brought to full safety, as he would be spending the night at a cliff area about 300m above the crash site.

Rescuers will wrench him up the remaining 100m to a landing pad from where he will flown back to full safety.

The bodies of infantry pilot Capt Razali Sani, 48, and Kpl Empeni Karong, 33, from Ninth Brigade Infantry have been found, while Razali’s colleague Ramli Jamal, 35, is still missing.

Sarawak Police Commissioner Deputy Comm Datuk Talib Jamal said the 19-member rescue team, which stayed overnight at two landing pads near the crash site, reached the wreckage at 9am yesterday.

The rescue effort had to be done in stages, as the wreckage was lodged 400m below Bukit Batu Tiban, where the terrain was very steep and dangerous, he added.

“The near-vertical cliff of Bukit Batu Tiban is the main difficulty faced by the rescue team.

“The rest of the team will bring Razali to the landing pad near the top of the hill for him to be flown out (today),” he told a press conference in Kapit.

He said search and rescue efforts to locate Ramli were on-going, adding that seven personnel were involved in this task.

The bodies of Capt Razali and Kpl Empeni, which were still at the crash site, will be flown to Sibu Hospital today.

On Monday, the Hornbill Skyways Bell 206 helicopter was reported missing near the Sarawak-Kalimantan border at 10.30am and was later found to have crashed at Bukit Batu Tiban.

It was believed that the pilot was looking for a place to land to avoid bad weather when the mishap occurred.

FULLY ENGROSSED: Ninth Brigade chief of staff Lt Kol Muthu Kumar (left) briefing (from second left) First Division army commander Maj-Gen Datuk Effendi Mustafa and Ninth Brigade army commander Brig-Gen Awie Suboh on the rescue operations at Kapit yesterday. With them is Kapt Samzie Gusang.
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