Former minister and Rompin parliamentarian Jamaluddin Jarjis was killed in a helicopter crash near Semenyih this evening. He was 63 years old.

Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai told Bernama that Jamaluddin was among six passengers on board the ill-fated helicopter.  

Also killed was Azlin Alias, private secretary to Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

The other four were Kedah businessman Tan Huat Seang, pilot captain Clifford William Fournier, operations assistant Aidana Baizieva, and Jamaluddin’s bodyguard Razakan B Seran.

The helicopter was believed to be on its way back from Najib's daughter's wedding reception in Pekan, Pahang.

The helicopter, owned by IGB Corporation and operated by Cempaka Aviation, crashed and caught fire at about 4.55pm.

According to Fire and Rescue Department, all six bodies were found by 8.15pm.

Bernama reported that the helicopter was seen to have exploded in mid-air before hitting the ground. 

A witness, Roslan Harun, 54, a security guard on duty near the scene, said the mishap occurred during heavy rain.  

"It exploded in mid-air, not so high from the ground. Then, the debris, tail and blades were thrown all over the place," he told Bernama at the scene.

Roslan said he had wanted to enter the crash site to offer help and assistance, but changed his mind and called the Fire and Rescue Department instead.

He said the crash site was about 5km away from Kampung Sungai Pening, or 13km from the Semenyih town. 

Jamaluddin had served as a minister as well as Malaysian ambassador to the United States. 

At the 2013 general election, Jamaluddin won Rompin - a parliamentary seat located in the southern tip of Pahang - by a whopping majority of 15,114 votes against PAS candidate Nuridah Mohd Salleh. 

He bagged 30,040 votes, more than twice of Nuridah’s 14,926. The seat comprises 87 percent Malays, 2 percent Chinese and 8 percent of others, mostly Orang Asli. 

Meanwhile according to Bernama , a Department of Civil Aviation team has been formed to investigate the cause of the crash.
 
Liow said the team would retrieve all evidence at the scene to assist its investigation.
 
"The team will inspect the scene of the incident, including to retrieve the cockpit recorder in the helicopter for further investigation," he said in a live-telecast interview with private television station, Astro Awani, tonight.
 
Liow said all the bodies of the six victims in the helicopter crash would be taken to Hospital Kuala Lumpur for post-mortem and the process of identifying the bodies was expected to be ready tonight.

"On a personal note, I am struck by this tragic news, as Tan Sri Dr Jamaluddin and Datuk Sri Azlin were both colleagues of mine whom I knew personally," said Liow in a statement late this evening.

"This is indeed a great loss and my thoughts and prayers are with their families and the families of the other victims during this tragic time."