RMN'S 90TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION CANCELLED, REPLACED WITH TAHLIL, PRAYER SESSION

LUMUT, April 23 (Bernama) -- All events in conjunction with the 90th Anniversary of the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) celebration parade scheduled to start this Saturday at Lumut RMN Base have been cancelled and replaced with tahlil and doa selamat.

Defence Minister, Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said the decision was made in respect of the families and next of kin of 10 officers and members of RMN who died in the crash of two helicopters this morning.

"The cancellation includes the parade in conjunction with the anniversary at the RMN Base here this week as well as the Armada Open Day scheduled for May 3 to 5, 2024.

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"The Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, who is also RMN Captain-in-Chief consented to cancellation of the celebration and His Highness will also attend a tahlil and doa selamat ceremony," he said in a press conference here today.

Also present were the Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) chief General Tan Sri Mohamad Ab Rahman and RMN deputy chief, Vice Admiral Datuk Zulhelmy Ithnain.          

Mohamed Khaled, who inspected the crash site, said preliminary investigations found all 10 victims died at the scene of the incident in the swimming pool area and the RMN Stadium at the RMN Sports Complex.

"A military personnel who was in the swimming pool area also suffered minor injuries as a result of being hit by debris from the helicopter in the incident.

"All the family members of the victims involved were taken to Lumut, including those in Kota Kinabalu who will be flown using a Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) aircraft and I understand that they are expected to arrive this afternoon," he said.

He said that all the victims have been taken to Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital (HRPB) in Ipoh for post-mortem and the remains will be handed over to the families of the victims for burial in their respective hometowns.

-- BERNAMA