IPOH: The search and rescue operation for the helicopter that went missing near Bidor has been called off due to nightfall and poor weather conditions.
Perak police chief Datuk Comm Mohd Yusri Hassan Basri said the operation will resume at 8am on Monday (Sept 12).
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He said a control centre would be set up near Kampung Kenangan in Bidor, which is closest to where the helicopter, with a single pilot on board, went down.
"The helicopter's last known location is in the Chikus Forest Reserve.
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"We will focus our search there and then narrow down the search area further," he said in a press conference at the Bidor police station, about 67km from here on Sunday (Sept 11).
The aircraft, which left the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Subang at 11.37am, lost contact with the Kuala Lumpur Air Traffic Control Centre on Sunday at 12.16pm.
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It was scheduled to land in Sultan Azlan Shah Airport here at 12.37pm.
Comm Mohd Yusri said the police have also received reports of loud noises believed to be related to the incident.
"At about 5.40pm, we received a report from the people that they heard a low-flying helicopter near the village.
"We also received a report from another person who claimed to have heard a loud explosion," he said, adding that the search and rescue operation consists of personnel from the police, Fire and Rescue Department and Forestry Department.
Meanwhile, in a Facebook post on Sunday (Sept 11) night, Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong shared updates from the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) on the search-and-rescue operation.
The update said that the General Operations Force had planned for a ground search on Monday (Sept 12) morning from Kampung Kenangan in Bidor. The statement also said that a Control Post on Scene would be set up at the Bidor Police station.
