Small plane crashes in Malaysia, with at least 9 bodies recovered
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — A small aircraft crashed Thursday in a suburb in Malaysia’s central Selangor state, with at least nine bodies recovered, police said.
Shah Alam district police chief Mohamad Iqbal Ibrahim confirmed that a jet has crashed. He said it appeared that all the passengers on the plane had perished but couldn’t give further details. Another police officer, who declined to be named as he isn’t authorized to speak to the media, said that at least nine bodies have been found.
Civil aviation authorities said there were six passengers and two crew members on board the plane. The Malay Mail online news portal quoted eyewitnesses as saying the airplane exploded upon impact, with some of the debris from the crash hitting a motorcycle.
The New Straits Times, an English-language newspaper, said on its website that the plane was believe to be en route from the northern resort island of Langkawi to the Subang airport in Selangor when it was believed to have encountered difficulties and crashed onto the highway.
Videos shared on social media showed fire and plumes of black smoke rising from the crash site on a grassy lawn by the side of a main highway in Shah Alam. Part of the road was seen covered in thick soot. Police and firemen have been deployed to the scene.
Transport Minister Anthony Loke is expected to release further details at a news conference later Thursday.