The 13th day: Families, friends wait as search continues
Families and friends of the missing seven on board a Bell 206 Long Ranger helicopter are keeping their finger crossed as images taken from a Thermal Infra Red Sensor (Kelvin 350 II) camera are still being analysed and reviewed.
The ill-fated chopper disappeared from Malaysian radar shortly after taking off from Bario Airport for the 17-minute flight to Ba'Kelalan on July 12. On board were Sarawak Assistant Minister Dr Judson Tagal and six others.
The result of the images could not be disclosed yet as they are still being processed. The camera was mounted on a Hornbill Skyways Bell 206 helicopter deployed to suspected locations near Bario and Ba'kelalan in Sarawak over the past two days.
Two specialists Will Stein and Peter Newman, from Australia operate the high-tech aerial scanning equipment that detects changes in temperature on the ground and also records visual movements as well as gaps in forest canopy.
RMAF equipment
The helicopter fitted with the camera continues to scan some other suspected locations yesterday, and the interpretation of the images is still being analysed. Search and Rescue (SAR) operation which entered its 13th day continued to be beefed up with more manpower and high tech equipment.
The Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF), on the other hand has made available its entire sophisticated equipment in the search effort.
RMAF Operations Commander Lt-Gen Shahrom Ibrahim said, "all sophisticated equipment in our possession have been made available to the search and rescue teams."
He said the search would go on until they have located the missing people and the copter.
"We will continue the search...calling it off has never crossed our minds," he told reporters at the Miri operations room.
Several countries including the United States, Australia, Indonesia and Brunei have contributed sophisticated equipment or personnel to help locate the missing helicopter.
Many areas combed
The Royal Brunei Air Force have also joined in the operation in Bario yesterday where a S-70A Black Hawk helicopter, fitted with radar, Forward Looking Infra Red (FLIR) and auxiliary fuel tanks were flown in from Brunei in addition to one Bell 212 helicopter.
Aside from the US Navy's PC Orion maritime patrol aircraft, two other special aircraft are in the interior now - a Sabah Air Nomad equipped with hyper-spectral imaging systems that can carry out remote sensing and a privately owned aircraft with light detection and ranging equipment.
Meanwhile, Assistant Minister Sylvester Entri who is co-ordinating search effort in Ba' Kelalan, said Long Lepung, Gunung Murud, Batu Lawi and even Gunung Aluyah had been combed.
"Even the border areas at Long Bawang and Long Medang were covered by locals with some help from the Indonesian police and army," he said.
Three aircraft from Layang Layang, Sabah Air and a Russian helicopter are combing areas around Ba'kelalan.
Jimmy Teoh is malaysiakini' s Sarawak-based stringer
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