That was the last joke shared between Kuala Kangsar MP Wan Mohammad Khair-il Anuar Wan Ahmad with Nurul Azni Bani Ami, the Kuala Kangsar Puteri Umno chief before the former boarded the Eurocopter AS350 helicopter which is believed to have crashed near the Batang Lupar River in Sebuyau, Sarawak, yesterday evening.

Earlier, both had attended an event in Betong, about 250km from Kuching.

“At the post-event reception, he (Wan Mohammad Khair-il Anuar) jokingly said that he did not want to eat too much as he was afraid the helicopter would be too heavy to fly. Until now, I still hear his words drumming in my ears,” she told Bernama here today.

Prime Minister Najib Razak, at a press conference in Kuching earlier today, confirmed that the ill-fated helicopter was carrying six people, including Wan Mohammad Khair-il Anuar.

The other five people were Plantation Industries and Commodities Deputy Minister Noriah Kasnon; her husband Asmuni Abdullah; Plantation Industries and Commodities Ministry secretary-general Dr Sundaran Annamalai; Noriah’s bodyguard Ahmad Sobri Harun; and Filipino pilot Rudolf Rex Ragas.

The helicopter left Betong at 4.12pm yesterday and should have arrived in Kuching at about 5pm.

Parts of the helicopter, including a floatation device, a chair, part of a door, part of a rotor and part of the body of the helicopter, were found near the river earlier today.

Nurul Azni said Wan Mohammad Khair-il Anuar was supposed to return to Kuching in another helicopter, but as the pilot was not available at the moment, he was invited by Noriah to join her.

“He was rushing to catch a flight from Kuching to Kuala Lumpur scheduled to depart at 9pm,” she said.

Although the prime minister announced that parts of the helicopter had been found, Nurul Azni said all Kuala Kangsar Umno members and their families were still hoping and praying for the safety of their elected representative.

— BERNAMA