.Two Malaysian naval helicopters collide, ten dead

Ten crew members have been killed after two Malaysian navy helicopters collided in midair and crashed to the ground.

The Royal Malaysian Navy said in a statement that the two aircraft collided on Tuesday morning as they were taking part in aerial training in northern Lumut, where the navy has its headquarters.

One helicopter, an Agusta Westland AW139 Maritime Operations Helicopter (HOM), crashed near the raised seating of the stadium at the complex while the second, a Eurocopter Fennec, fell near a swimming pool.

The navy said there were seven crew on board the Agusta and three on the Eurocopter. All were confirmed dead at the scene of the crash, which took place at about 9.30am (01:30 GMT)

The navy “will establish an investigation board to determine the cause of the incident”, it said.