Witness reports mid-air explosion as six people killed, including Najib Razak’s principal private secretary and senior member of his party

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

The Malaysian prime minister’s chief of staff and and his country’s former ambassador to the US were among six people killed when a helicopter crashed south of Kuala Lumpur on Saturday.

The helicopter went down in a rubber plantation in the town of Semenyih, killing everyone on board, including Najib Razak’s principal private secretary, Azlin Alias.

Also among the dead was Jamaluddin Jarjis, an MP and senior member of Najib’s political party, UMNO, also a former Malaysian ambassador to the US.

“I am personally grief-struck. Jamaluddin Jarjis was my friend of many years and no truer friend could I have,” Najib said in a statement.

“Azlin Alias was my chief of staff and a truly outstanding government servant. The contributions of these two men to the government, to UMNO and to Malaysia were very significant.”

Najib added that he had ordered an investigation into the cause of the crash, saying that “no stone will be left unturned”.

The transport minister, Liow Tiong Lai, said in a separate statement that all six bodies had been recovered and sent to a hospital in the capital, Kuala Lumpur.

“This is indeed a great loss and my thoughts and prayers are with their families and the families of the other victims during this tragic time,” the minister said.

A witness told Malaysia’s official Bernama news agency that the helicopter “exploded in mid-air” during heavy rain.

“Then, the debris, tail and blades were thrown all over the place,” the witness, Roslan Harun, was quoted as saying.