The body of the last victim from the Nuri helicopter crash which killed all six crew members was retrieved this morning.

The remains of Capt Nor Azlan Termuzi, 29, was then airflown in a Fire and Rescue Department helicopter to the Kuala Lumpur Hospital (HKL) for post-mortem.

Nor Azlan was the pilot of the Royal Malaysian Air Force helicopter which crashed in Genting Sempah near Genting Highlands last Friday. The chopper was on a flight from the Sungai Besi air base to Kuantan.

Rescuers found the wreckage only on Tuesday after a four-day intensive search and rescue mission.

However, the bodies of those killed could not be retrieved immediately due to the location of the crash site in a dense jungle.

By early evening yesterday, rescue personnel could only bring out bodies of three perished air force personnel and had to stop their retrieval operations due to fading light and bad weather.

The rescue team also had problems in removing Nor Azlan's body from the cockpit as he was pinned in the wreckage as a result of the crash impact.

Part of the cockpit of the helicopter, which crashed at a 45-degree angle, was said to be embedded in the ground. The rotor blades were also gone.

Probe started

In another development, the RMAF today announced that it has launched an investigation into the crash,

RMAF chief Gen Azizan Ariffin said the special team will be led by Lt Col Said Islam.

Bernama also quoted him as saying that the special investigation team was already at the crash site to analyse the wreckage of the helicopter.

"We'll also try to remove the wreckage from the crash site," Azizan told Bernama .

Replacing Nuri

Yesterday the government agreed to replace the fleet of ageing Nuri helicopters which has been in service since 1968.

Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, who chaired the weekly Cabinet meeting yesterday, said he had informed Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who is currently on leave, and his Cabinet colleagues on the need to speed up the replacement programme in the interest of the country.

"And they've given their approval," Bernama quoted him as saying.

Najib, who is also Defence Minister, said the Cabinet agreed that the procurement of the new helicopters be done through international open tender to be called in the next few months.

The Nuri helicopter has been in use since 1968 and more than 20 of them remain in the Malaysian air force.

"We do not have many options as the Nuri is the main vehicle used by the air force for transportation. We cannot just terminate its usage immediately," Najib said.