Malaysia

Long Lellang helicopter crash: Remains of 5 victims to be returned to families today

The remains of all five victims of Tuesday’s Flying Doctor Service helicopter crash in Long Lellang will be handed over to their families today after DNA identification was completed, Sarawak police say

Updated 2 hours ago · Published on 12 Sep 2026 1:31PM

Long Lellang helicopter crash: Remains of 5 victims to be returned to families today
Authorities say the remains would be handed over to the next of kin after all necessary documentation completed - September 12, 2026

THE remains of all five victims of Tuesday’s Flying Doctor Service (FDS) helicopter crash in Long Lellang will be returned to their families today after DNA identification was completed, Sarawak Police Commissioner Datuk Mohamad Zainal Abdullah said.

He said the remains would be handed over to the next of kin after all necessary documentation had been completed.

“Today we will hand over the remains of the victims. Once the documentation is completed, the remains will be handed over to the families,” he told Bernama when contacted today.

The development clears the way for the families to proceed with funeral and burial arrangements for the five victims.

The remains of medical assistant Alexson Adit Henry will be buried at the Anglican Cemetery in Lambir following a religious service at Good Shepherd Church in Lutong at 9am on Tuesday.

His sister, Annastasia Luyah, said in a Facebook post that a wake would be held on Monday at their family home in Taman Desa Senadin here.

A wake for nurse Jessie Paya Jok will be held at Taman Wang Lusut here, while one for fellow nurse Debra Moset will be held at Kampung Semadang in Padawan, Kuching. Funeral dates have yet to be announced.

The crash claimed the lives of all five people aboard a BO-105 helicopter operated by Layang-Layang Aerospace after it crashed near the end of the Long Lellang STOLport runway at about 3.40pm on Tuesday.

Besides Alexson, Jessie and Debra, those killed were pilot Captain Zainol Afiq Bee Sham, 30, and medical officer Dr Ainul Baraah Kamaruddin, 33.

Dr Ainul Baraah’s remains are expected to be buried at the Sri Kedeper Muslim Cemetery in Kelantan, while Zainol Afiq will be buried in Negeri Sembilan.

Mohamad Zainal said yesterday that post-mortems on all five victims had been completed at the Miri Hospital Forensic Department at 7.30pm on Thursday, with DNA analysis expected to be completed today. - September 12, 2026

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