Roundup: Malaysian deputy minister killed in helicopter crash

A deputy minister was killed in a helicopter crash in Malaysia's eastern Sarawak state, officials said on Friday.

A female body and some parts of debris from the missing helicopter carrying senior government officials were discovered on Friday. The body was later identified to be Noriah Kasnon, deputy minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities, the state news agency Bernama reported.

Prime Minister Najib Razak confirmed the passing of the deputy minister via his social media account, adding the efforts were ongoing to find others still unaccounted for.

The helicopter carrying six people lost contact with the air control some 20 minutes after taking off Thursday afternoon en route to state capital of Kuching.

Najib told a press conference earlier that parts of the missing AS350 helicopter were found near a river, including a rotation device, a seat, part of a door and part of a rotor blade. Noriah's body was retrieved in the nearby area around noon.

Others on board include another member of Malaysia's parliament, a senior official in Noriah's ministry, her husband, as well as her bodyguard and a Filipino pilot.

The cause of the incident remained unknown. Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said the investigations into the accident would be conducted by the Air Accident and Investigation Bureau.

Leaders from both the ruling coalition, including Najib, as well as the opposition have been campaigning in Sarawak on North Borneo for the state legislation election on Saturday, which is widely seen as a bellwether for the general election in 2018. Enditem