The remains of the seven who perished in the Hornbill Skyways helicopter crash at the foot of Sarawak's Mount Murud last July 12 were handed over to their respective families today.

The bodies of contractor Marcus Raja, Padawan Municipal Council chairperson Lawrence Th'ng, Sarawak Electricity Supply Corporation (Sesco) chief executive officer Roger Wong and Sesco engineer Jason Eng would be flown to Kuching for burial, according to a Bernama report.

The remains would be flown in a Hornbill Skyways aircraft, said a spokesman for the Search and Rescue Operations Room in Miri.

He said the remains of another Sesco engineer, Ling Tian Ho, would be buried in Miri today.

The remains of helicopter pilot Captain Samsuddin Hashim would be flown to his birthplace in Batu Pahat, Johor in a Royal Malaysia Air Force aircraft.

Meanwhile, the remains of Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister's Office Dr Judson Tagal would only be flown to Kuching tomorrow as the funeral was scheduled for Monday.

Dedicated to his work

Meanwhile, in extending his condolences to the Judson's family, Sarawak Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud (left) described his late assistant minister as "someone with an open mind, a level head and dedication to his work."

"I feel the loss of Dr Judson as a potential great leader of the Orang Ulu and I share the grief of his family."

Taib also conveyed his condolences to the families of all seven men killed in the crash saying that the people of Sarawak shared in their sorrow.

Families of the victims had been receiving messages of condolences from all over the country, including one from Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, since the tragic news emerged on Thursday that no one survived the crash.

In Miri yesterday, Kidurong state assemblyperson Chiew Chin Sing (left) urged the Sarawak Government to table a white paper to probe the causes of the crash and why its wreckage was not found earlier.

"All aspects of the search and rescue operations should also be looked into," he was quoted in the Star as saying.

No explanation

Mutang Tagal, Judson's younger brother and former Bukit Mas MP, who never hide his displeasure over the conduct of the operations throughout the two-week ordeal, said yesterday that "it was a complete surprise that the wreckage was only five minutes by air from Bario."

"I do not know how to explain why it was not spotted earlier despite so many aerial sorties and ground searches. I don't think anyone can explain this sort of thing," he told the Star .

Mutang also extended his family's appreciation to all who took part in the aerial and ground search for their effort.

The post-mortems on the seven badly decomposed bodies yesterday were conducted by thirteen pathologists led by Sarawak Hospital consultant pathologist Dr Jamil Dolkadir.