A special team made up of rescue personnel from various agencies led by the Royal Malaysia Police has been activated to find the helicopter that has gone missing in Sarawak, said Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

The Royal Malaysian Air Force and Army have also been enlisted to assist the search and rescue (SAR) mission.

This was stated by Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein on his Twitter account.

"I have ordered the RMAF and Army to join the SAR mission," he said.

Meanwhile, a 30-strong team from Sarawak Fire and Rescue's Special Tactical Operation Rescue Malaysia (Storm) unit has been despatched to Sebuyau, about 200km from here, tonight as the first response team to locate the helicopter, which went missing while on a flight from Betong to Kuching this afternoon.

Sarawak Fire and Rescue chief Nor Hisham Mohammad said as of 9pm, no party had been able to confirm the location of the helicopter but nevertheless, the Storm unit had been activated to be the first responders.

He added that their air unit had also been placed on standby, and was ready to move at a moment's notice.

- Bernama