THE parents of Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) Commander Firdaus Ramli had just chatted with their son by telephone almost an hour before his tragic death on Tuesday (23/4). As is known, Firdaus was one of the 10 victims killed in the Malaysian military helicopter crash.
“This can’t be happening. I can’t believe my brother is gone. “Just now (Tuesday morning), I heard my parents talking to him on the telephone,” said Alya Ramli, 27, Firdaus’ sister.
“About an hour later, we got the sad news regarding his death,” he said.
Firdaus, 44, was the pilot of one of the helicopters that crashed in Lumut, Perak. Alya said her sister would always call her parents before she left for a flight or mission. The family also gathered recently to celebrate Eid together.
“That was the last time I saw him,” he said between tears at their residence in Pantai Jerejak, Penang.
About a dozen journalists visited the two-story house, which was quiet and all the doors were closed, except when a relative appeared to collect food from a delivery man.
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Alya, who came out to speak briefly with reporters, declined to be photographed. He said that the news of his brother’s death was conveyed by his wife, who lives in Sabah, at around 10 am at that time.
“My parents have gone to the RMN headquarters in Lumut to get further information and complete the process of repatriating my brother’s body,” he said.
One of Firdaus’ relatives, Syahirah, said the deceased had served in the navy for more than 20 years.
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“He has been based in Kota Kinabalu for two years,” he said.
Firdaus was among 10 crew members who died following two naval helicopters collided during training at the naval base stadium in Lumut.
It is known that he was the pilot of the HOM M503-3 helicopter with seven crew members on board. The plane belongs to Squadron 503 which is based in Kota Kinabalu.
(Straitstimes/Z-9)
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