KUCHING, Sept 9 —The Flying Doctor Service (FDS) team involved in the helicopter crash near Long Lellang this afternoon is one of the active teams providing healthcare services to residents in remote areas of Sarawak.

According to the Ministry of Health (MOH), the FDS was introduced in Sarawak in 1973 and plays a vital role in delivering healthcare services to communities in hard-to-reach areas.

Through regular visits, the service provides medicines and vaccines, as well as medical evacuation missions for critically ill patients.

KOTA BHARU, Sept 9 — The father of one of the victims of the helicopter crash in Sarawak, Kamarudin Salleh, said he last met his daughter, Dr Ainul Baroah, when she came home for the school holidays before returning to Sarawak on Sunday.

“She was her usual self, always smiling and not saying much. She spend time with her nieces and nephews and the family,” he told reporters at his home in Kampung Baung, Pengkalan Chepa, here last night. 

Kamarudin said he received news of the incident at 5 pm yesterday from one of his daughter’s parents-in-law.

He said the family had yet to receive confirmation of Dr Ainul Baroah’s condition at the time, before his son-in-law contacted him to confirm his daughter’s passing.

“My daughter worked at Miri Hospital and had been serving in Sarawak for almost two years. Before that, she worked for about two years in Tanah Merah,” said the retired teacher.

Kamaruddin said his daughter’s responsibilities included monitoring patients in several areas, including Baram, which required her to travel by helicopter about once a week.

Meanwhile, Dr Ainul Baroah’s mother, retired teacher Rogayah Mohd Noor, 69, described her daughter as kind and said she had never caused problems for the family since she was a child.

“She was a good daughter. When she came home recently, we noticed that she seemed different from usual. Her face appeared radiant, and there was something different about her,” she added.

Earlier, the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) confirmed in a statement that the BO-105 helicopter, which was carrying five people, including the pilot, and operating a Flying Doctor Service flight, crashed near the Long Lellang Short Take-Off and Landing (STOL) airport, about 929 kilometres north of Kuching.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said the helicopter, which departed from Miri, was operated by a pilot and carried a medical officer, an assistant medical officer, and two nurses on official duty.

Meanwhile, Miri Division Resident and chairman of the Miri Division Disaster Management Committee Galong Luang confirmed that all those on board were killed in the incident, which occurred at about 3.40 pm. — Bernama

KUALA LUMPUR: Kualiti udara di Serian, Sarawak kekal membimbangkan apabila merekodkan Indeks Pencemaran Udara (IPU) pada tahap sangat tidak sihat dengan bacaan 212, setakat jam 8 pagi ini.

Berdasarkan data Sistem Pengurusan Indeks Pencemaran Udara (APIMS), Jabatan Alam Sekitar (JAS), sebanyak 28 kawasan di seluruh negara pula merekodkan bacaan IPU pada tahap tidak sihat.

Di Sarawak, Samarahan merekodkan bacaan 186, diikuti Sarikei dan Sri Aman masing-masing 174, manakala ILP Miri (172) dan Mukah (157), Bintulu (156), Miri (151) serta Sibu (104).

Selain Sarawak, beberapa kawasan di Semenanjung turut merekodkan bacaan IPU pada tahap tidak sihat iaitu Batu Muda, Kuala Lumpur mencatat bacaan 170, diikuti Shah Alam, Selangor (162).

Di Nilai, Negeri Sembilan merekodkan bacaan 159, Tasek Ipoh dan Tanjung Malim, Perak masing-masing 158, manakala Putrajaya (158).

Banting, Selangor pula merekodkan bacaan 157, Bukit Rambai, Melaka (155), Segamat, Johor (155) dan Jerantut, Pahang (155).

KATHMANDU: Operasi mencari dan menyelamat mangsa banjir di Nepal kini berdepan cabaran luar biasa apabila beberapa operasi dijalankan serentak di dalam terowong hidroelektrik di kawasan Himalaya.

Pakar penyelamat Australia, Arnold Dix, berkata situasi itu antara cabaran paling sukar pernah dihadapinya berikutan operasi menyelamat perlu dijalankan di beberapa lokasi pada masa sama.

“Kami berdepan sesuatu yang belum pernah saya hadapi sebelum ini.

“Bukan satu operasi menyelamat, tetapi beberapa operasi berpotensi yang berlaku serentak di lokasi berbeza, masing-masing dengan bahaya, ketidakpastian dan nyawa yang mungkin masih dapat diselamatkan,” kata Dix, Presiden Persatuan Terowong dan Ruang Bawah Tanah Antarabangsa, dalam satu hantaran di media sosial.

Runtuhan glasier dan gunung di sempadan China-Nepal pada 26 Ogos mengorbankan sekurang-kurangnya 1,385 orang, manakala lebih 5,500 lagi masih hilang di kedua-dua negara.

Ratusan pekerja projek hidroelektrik antara yang masih hilang, manakala operasi mencari dan menyelamat kini memasuki hari ke-13.