Searchers believe they have found the body of the pilot in last week’s fatal helicopter crash.
The body of Filipino pilot Capt Rudolf Rex Ragas was found in the Batang Lupar river, about 20km from the Lingga jetty, The Star Online reports.
It will be taken to the Sarawak General Hospital for post-mortem.
Forty-six divers were involved in the search and rescue operation which has come to depend on sonar search due to near zero-visibility in the river for underwater visual search.
Fishing nets from the fisheries department were also used to scour the spots along the river based on the helicopter’s possible last routes.
Five other people — Deputy Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Noriah Kasnon, her husband Asmuni Abdullah, ministry secretary-general Dr Sundaran Annamalai, Kuala Kangsar MP Wan Mohammad Khair-il Anuar Wan Ahmad and Noriah’s bodyguard Ahmad Sobri Harun — were on board the helicopter on Thursday heading to Kuching from Betong.
The AS350 helicopter lost contact about 20 minutes into the flight. Several parts of the helicopter were found in Sungai Batang Lupar, Sebuyau.
