Ten killed as light plane crashes on street in Malaysia
A light plane crashed into a street in Malaysia’s central Selangor state on Thursday, killing eight people on board and two motorists on the ground.
“For now, I can say at least 10 people were killed in the plane crash. Two passing motorists – one in a car and one on a motorcycle – also perished together with the eight onboard the plane,” said the local police chief, Mohamad Iqbal Ibrahim.
Mohamad Syahmie Mohamad Hashim, a former member of the Malaysian air force, said he saw the plane flying erratically. “Not long after that I heard a loud boom,” he said. “I sped towards the location and saw the remains of an aircraft. I also saw [a] human body on fire. I couldn’t do anything.”
Other witnesses said the Beechcraft Model 390 burst into flames as it hit the ground in Elmina, near Shah Alam. An explosion was heard, they said.
A brief video shared on Twitter, which is now known as X, showed fire and black smoke billowing from the crash site, which was covered with dark soot. Debris was scattered around and houses could be seen in the background.
Police said Johari Harun, a state assembly member in central Pahang state in charge of housing and the environment, was among the plane passengers killed.
Malaysia’s civil aviation authority said six passengers and two flight crew were onboard the aircraft when it crashed.
The plane took off from the northern resort island of Langkawi and was heading to Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah airport west of the capital, Kuala Lumpur, the civil aviation authority chief, Norazman Mahmud, said.
He said no mayday call was made and the Air Accident Investigation Bureau would look into the crash.