SNAPSHOT | Nearly 900ha of forests, land still burning in Indonesia; fate of five in chopper crash still uncertain

KINI SNAPSHOT | What’s going on in the news today, with updates at 9am, 2pm, 6pm, and 9pm.

9pm

Haze

• The haze choking most of Malaysia is unlikely to dissipate soon as nearly 900ha of forest and land are still burning in Indonesia despite weeks of intense firefighting, Bernama reported.
  
  Indonesia’s National Disaster Mitigation Agency Disaster Data, Information and Communication Centre acting head Berton Panjaitan said almost 1,500ha had burned across West, Central, and South Kalimantan, as well as Riau, Jambi, and South Sumatra.
  
  Of this area, fires in more than 550ha have been extinguished.

  

  He said more than 40,000 personnel were deployed for ground firefighting while aerial operations had dropped more than three million litres of water across the affected provinces, including over one million litres in Riau and more than 780,000 litres in South Kalimantan.
  
  He added that weather modification operations were also carried out in West, Central, and South Kalimantan and Riau, but the operation was not carried out in Jambi and South Sumatra as there was no potential for rain clouds in the atmosphere.

Helicopter crash

• Search and rescue operations are continuing for the five people on board a helicopter that crashed near the Long Lellang Short Take-Off and Landing airport in Marudi, Sarawak.
  
  In separate updates, Sarawak police and the Health Ministry said the fate of the four Health Ministry personnel and one doctor remains unclear as the incident occurred in a remote area of Marudi.
  
  Aerial search operations have also been hampered by the haze enveloping the region, Sarawak police said in a statement.

  

  “Search and rescue operations for the time being are being conducted by villagers, auxiliary police, and Rela personnel from the Long Lellang airport,” the statement said.
  
  The craft was part of the Health Ministry’s Flying Doctor Service.

Previously at 6pm | Chopper with 5 inside crashes in S'wak; ex-minister remanded in Tabung Haji probe released

2pm | Harapan ready to go solo for Malacca polls; govt to boost cash crop smallholders' income

9am | Cops probing Hadi's US conspiracy remarks; UMS researchers discover new parasitic fungi

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