More debris found as SAR team narrows search area

KUCHING: New debris, believed to be from the helicopter that crashed on Thursday, has been discovered near Pulai Triso on the estuary of Batang Lupar, the Department of Civil Aviation confirmed.

DCA director-general Datuk Seri Azharuddin Abdul Rahman said the discovery was made at about 9.45am yesterday by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA).

“We found a helicopter cushion near Pulai Triso and a tail boom at Sungai Merah, some four kilometres north-east of Lingga,” he told a press conference at the DCA headquarters here.

He noted that the search and rescue operations will be focused around Sebuyau and Lingga, near Batang Lupar, stretching across 875km, to locate the last missing person of the crash, Filipino pilot Rudolf Rex Ragas, who took off with five passengers from Betong en route to Kuching on Thursday.

“The operations will continue until we find out the real reason behind the incident,” he said.

Azharuddin said the relevant authorities would not use sonar but metal detectors to locate the wreckage.

“If we pick up any sign of metal in the river, we will send in the divers,” he said.

Azharuddin also dismissed talk on social media about an over-capacity of passengers on the helicopter ride.

“Let the relevant bodies investigate the matter. We urge the public to stop making further speculations that could hurt the feelings of the next of kin,” he said.

Apart from Ragas, the others on the helicopter were Deputy Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Noriah Kasnon, her husband Asmuni Abdullah, the ministry’s secretary-general Datuk Dr Sundaran Annamalai, Kuala Kangsar MP Datuk Wan Mohammad Khair-il Anuar Wan Ahmad, who was also the Malaysian Palm Oil Board chairman, and Noriah’s bodyguard Ahmad Sobri Harun.

Meanwhile, Sarawak Police Commissioner Datuk Seri Muhammad Sabtu Osman said there were no plans to end the operations, adding that the search and rescue team would be increased from 505 to 1,010 personnel.

“We have started using drones from the Civil Defence Department to assist to search for the wreckage.

“We are also asking for help from the Fisheries Department to use trawl nets to pick up possible debris in the water,” he told reporters at the SAR operations centre in Lingga.

Muhammad Sabtu said there was a possibility that the pilot’s body is still strapped to his seat in the main body of the helicopter, which has yet to be found.

“We believe the body is still in the main wreckage of the helicopter as the safety belt worn by the pilot is stronger,” said Mohamed Sabtu.