KUALA LUMPUR: Two helicopters believed to be privately-owned were involved in an accident near SJKT Taman Melawati in Taman Melawati, near here, late this morning.
The two helicopters, each with two occupants, comprising three men and one woman onboard were said to have grazed with one another before one crashed in the 11.45am incident.
The second helicopter however managed to make an emergency landing at the school's field.
The two in the chopper which crashed succumbed to their injuries and their bodies were found still strapped to their seats.
Paramedics who arrived at the scene minutes after the crash, declared both the victims dead, after failing to resuscitate both at the scene.
Ampang Jaya district deputy police chief Assistant Commissioner Mohamad Farouk Esha said the helicopter took off from the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Subang and was headed to Genting Sempah.
He said police will investigate the cause of death in the crash, while the crash investigation would be carried out by the relevant authorities.
"The deceased had been identified as My Heli Club's captain and chief flying instructor Commander (Rtd) Mohamed Sabri Baharom, 56 and Mohamad Irfan Fikri Mohd Rawi, 44.
"The other two victims who escaped with minor injuries after making an emergency landing have been identified as former MAS Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Datuk Ahmad Jauhari Yahaya, 66, and the sole woman, Tan Chai Eian, 41," he said when met at the scene.
He added that the two men's remains were sent to the Kuala Lumpur Hospital for a post mortem.
Selangor Fire and Rescue department director Norazam Khamis said they received a distress call at 11.47am before three rescue teams rushed to the scene.
"Firemen from Ampang, Pandan and Kuala Lumpur rushed to the scene and helped to extricate the two victims' bodies from the wreckage. They were then surrendered to the police for further action," he said.
Norazam also concurred with the preliminary eye witness statements that the two helicopters had grazed each other mid-air.
"Based on what we have gathered thus far, it is likely that the two helicopters grazed with each other, experiencing complications, before one swirled down and crashed," he said.
The two helicopters involved in the incident are believed to be French made Guimbal Cabri G2 Rouge and Bleu helicopters, owned by the My Heli Club, which Ahmad Jauhari is the president.
Ahmad Jauhari who was present at the crash scene, was seen consoling his co-pilot who was in tears, upon seeing the two victims still strapped to their seats in the wreckage.
An eye witness, Yudish G.Dorai who lives less than half a kilometer away from the crash site, when met, said he heard a loud explosion sort of sound before the helicopter crashed.
"At first I only noticed one of it. At the time, it was obvious that it was going to crash because of its descending rate.
"Then suddenly after this crash, I noticed the red helicopter trying to land without a carriage underneath it.
"So I went to find out what happened, that's when I heard that two of them died in the crash," the 38-year old businessman said.
Another eyewitness, Ogy Zida, a former military chopper pilot said she saw both choppers going down.
"Heard an explosion before they went down. One managed to land in an open field of a Tamil school near here. The other one near the main road heading to Taman Melawati," she said.