At the border between the Philippines and Malaysia, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) is coordinating with Malaysian authorities on a search and rescue mission for a missing medevac helicopter.
Yesterday, CAAP spokesperson Eric Apolonio stated that Philippine Air Force helicopters, together with Filipino Coast Guard and Navy warships, will execute the operation near the Balabac Strait, which is located near the boundary between the Philippines and Malaysia.
Since Wednesday of last week, the air ambulance operated by the Philippine Adventist Medical Aviation Services (PAMAS) has been missing.
Apolonio stated that the Philippine Aeronautical Rescue Coordination Center (PARCC) of the CAAP is collaborating with the Palawan disaster risk reduction and management council and the PAMAS to conduct an aircraft search over Kota Kinabalu.
The PAMAS headquarters in Brooke’s Point in Palawan had combed the coastal seas for any trace of the chopper, but to no avail.
The Aeronautical Rescue Coordination Center of Kota Kinabalu alerted the PARCC on Sunday that Sabah’s coast guards launched a search and rescue operation south of Pulau Banggi.
Malaysian officials told the Philippines that its air force and police air wing conducted a similar operation yesterday near the border of Pulau, Banggi, and Balabac.
Authorities in the Philippines think the chopper may have crossed into Malaysia during the crash, therefore they have enlisted Malaysia in the search and rescue operation.
