2 Malaysian military helicopters collide and crash while training, killing all 10 crew

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Two Malaysian military helicopters collided midair and crashed during a training session on Tuesday, killing all 10 people on board and injuring a swimmer in a pool, authorities said.

The helicopters were rehearsing at a naval base in northern Perak state for the navy’s 90th anniversary celebration when the accident occurred, the navy said in a brief statement. “All victims were confirmed dead on site,” it said.

A video circulating on social media purported to be of the incident shows several helicopters flying low in a formation. One of the helicopters veers sideways and clips the rotor of another helicopter, causing both to plunge and crash. A local police officer, who declined to be named because he isn’t authorized to speak to the media, confirmed the footage is genuine.

The two choppers were mangled beyond recognition. Rescue workers sifted through the debris to find the bodies. The victims included three women and seven men aged between 26 and 41, authorities said.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said the nation mourned over the “heart and soul-wrenching tragedy.” He said the navy will immediately carry out an investigation to find the cause of the incident.

Seven of the dead crew members were aboard an AW139 maritime operations helicopter, the navy said. That aircraft is produced by AgustaWestland, a subsidiary of the Italian defense contractor Leonardo. The other three were on a Fennec lightweight helicopter, manufactured by European multinational defense conglomerate Airbus.

Defense Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin said that the anniversary celebration this Saturday will be cancelled and replaced with Friday prayers for the victims.

Khaled said the two helicopters were among seven rehearsing when the collision occurred. One crashed into an empty sports field, while another plunged into a nearby swimming pool. A swimmer sustained injuries after he was hit by debris from the plane, he added.

CORRECTS THE SOURCE - In this photo released by Fire & Rescue Department of Malaysia, fire and rescue department inspect the crash site of two helicopter in Lumur, Perak state, Monday, April 23, 2024. Malaysia's navy says two military helicopters collided and crashed during a training session, killing all 10 people on board. (Fire & Rescue Department of Malaysia via AP)

CORRECTS THE SOURCE - In this photo released by Fire & Rescue Department of Malaysia, fire and rescue department move out a body from the crash site of two helicopter in Lumur, Perak state, Monday, April 23, 2024. Malaysia's navy says two military helicopters collided and crashed during a training session, killing all 10 people on board. (Fire & Rescue Department of Malaysia via AP)

CORRECTS THE SOURCE - In this photo released by Fire & Rescue Department of Malaysia, fire and rescue department inspect the crash site of two helicopter in Lumur, Perak state, Monday, April 23, 2024. Malaysia's navy says two military helicopters collided and crashed during a training session, killing all 10 people on board. (Fire & Rescue Department of Malaysia via AP)

CORRECTS THE SOURCE- In this photo released by Fire & Rescue Department of Malaysia, fire and rescue department inspect the crash site of two helicopter in Lumur, Perak state, Monday, April 23, 2024. Malaysia's navy says two military helicopters collided and crashed during a training session, killing all 10 people on board. (Fire & Rescue Department of Malaysia via AP)

CORRECTS THE SOURCE - In this photo released by Fire & Rescue Department of Malaysia, fire and rescue department inspect the crash site of two helicopter in Lumur, Perak state, Monday, April 23, 2024. Malaysia's navy says two military helicopters collided and crashed during a training session, killing all 10 people on board. (Fire & Rescue Department of Malaysia via AP)

In this photo released by Fire & Rescue Department of Malaysia, fire and rescue department inspect the crash site of two helicopter in Lumur, Perak state, Monday, April 23, 2024. Malaysia's navy says two military helicopters collided and crashed during a training session, killing all 10 people on board. (Terence Tan/Ministry of Communications and Information via AP)

In this photo released by Fire & Rescue Department of Malaysia, fire and rescue department inspect the crash site of two helicopter in Lumur, Perak state, Monday, April 23, 2024. Malaysia's navy says two military helicopters collided and crashed during a training session, killing all 10 people on board. (Terence Tan/Ministry of Communications and Information via AP)

In this photo released by Fire & Rescue Department of Malaysia, fire and rescue department move out a body from the crash site of two helicopter in Lumur, Perak state, Monday, April 23, 2024. Malaysia's navy says two military helicopters collided and crashed during a training session, killing all 10 people on board. (Terence Tan/Ministry of Communications and Information via AP)

In this photo released by Fire & Rescue Department of Malaysia, fire and rescue department inspect the crash site of two helicopter in Lumur, Perak state, Monday, April 23, 2024. Malaysia's navy says two military helicopters collided and crashed during a training session, killing all 10 people on board. (Terence Tan/Ministry of Communications and Information via AP)

In this photo released by Fire & Rescue Department of Malaysia, fire and rescue department inspect the crash site of two helicopter in Lumur, Perak state, Monday, April 23, 2024. Malaysia's navy says two military helicopters collided and crashed during a training session, killing all 10 people on board. (Terence Tan/Ministry of Communications and Information via AP)

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations food agency warned Sudan’s warring parties Friday that there is a serious risk of widespread starvation and death in Darfur and elsewhere in Sudan if they don’t allow humanitarian aid into the vast western region.

Leni Kinzli, the World Food Program’s regional spokesperson, said at least 1.7 million people in Darfur were experiencing emergency levels of hunger in December, and the number “is expected to be much higher today.”

“Our calls for humanitarian access to conflict hotspots in Sudan have never been more critical,” she told a virtual U.N. press conference from Nairobi.

Sudan plunged into chaos in mid-April 2023, when long-simmering tensions between its military led by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces commanded by Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, broke out into street battles in the capital, Khartoum. Fighting has spread to other parts of the country, especially urban areas and the Darfur region.

The paramilitary forces, known as the RSF, have gained control of most of Darfur and are besieging El Fasher, the only capital in Darfur they don’t hold, where some 500,000 civilians had taken refuge.

Kinzli said WFP’s partners on the ground report that the situation in El Fasher is “extremely dire” and it’s difficult for civilians wanting to flee the reported RSF bombings and shelling to leave.

She said the violence in El Fasher and surrounding North Darfur is exacerbating the critical humanitarian needs in the entire Darfur region, where crop production for staple cereals like wheat, sorghum and millet is 78% less than the five-year average.

On top of the impact of escalating violence, Kinzli said, “WFP is concerned that hunger will increase dramatically as the lean season between harvests sets in and people run out of food.” She said a farmer in El Fasher recently told her that her family had already run out of food stocks and is living day-to-day, an indication that the “lean season,” which usually starts in May, started earlier.

Kinzli said she received photos earlier Friday from colleagues on the ground of severely malnourished children in a camp for displaced people in Central Darfur, as well as older people “who have nothing left but skin and bones.”

“Recent reports from our partners indicate that 20 children have died in recent weeks of malnutrition in that IDP camp,” she said.

“People are resorting to consuming grass and peanut shells,” Kinzli said. “And if assistance doesn’t reach them soon, we risk witnessing widespread starvation and death in Darfur and across other conflict-affected areas in Sudan.”

Kinzli called for “a concerted diplomatic effort by the international community to push the warring parties to provide access and safety guarantees” for humanitarian staff and convoys.

“One year of this devastating conflict in Sudan has created an unprecedented hunger catastrophe and threatens to ignite the world's largest hunger crisis,” she warned. “With almost 28 million people facing food insecurity across Sudan, South Sudan and Chad, the conflict is spilling over and exacerbating the challenges that we've already been facing over the last year.”

In March, Sudanese authorities revoked WFP’s permission to deliver aid from neighboring Chad to West Darfur and Central Darfur from the town of Adre, saying that crossing had been used to transfer weapons to the RSF. Kinzli said restrictions from Sudanese authorities in Port Sudan are also preventing WFP from transporting aid via Adre.

Sudanese authorities approved the delivery of aid from the Chadian town of Tina to North Darfur, but Kinzli said WFP can no longer use that route for security reasons because it goes directly into besieged El Fasher.

On Thursday, gunmen in South Darfur killed two drivers for the International Committee of the Red Cross and injured three ICRC staff members. On Friday, U.N. humanitarian chief Martin Griffith called the killing of aid works “unconscionable.”

Kinzli said the fighting “and endless bureaucratic hurdles” have prevented WFP from delivering aid to over 700,000 people in Darfur ahead of the rainy season when many roads become impassable.

“WFP currently has 8,000 tons of food supplies ready to move in Chad, ready to transport, but is unable to do so because of these constraints,” she said.

“WFP urgently requires unrestricted access and security guarantees to deliver assistance,” she said. “And we must be able to use the Adre border crossing, and move assistance across front lines from Port Sudan in the east to Darfur so we can reach people in this desperate region.”

FILE - Sudanese Children suffering from malnutrition are treated at an MSF clinic in Metche Camp, Chad, near the Sudanese border, on April 6, 2024. The United Nations food agency warned Sudan’s warring parties Friday, May 4, that there is a serious risk of widespread starvation and death in Darfur and elsewhere in Sudan if they don’t allow humanitarian aid into the vast western region. (AP Photo/Patricia Simon, File)