Two Malaysian military helicopters collided mid-air and crashed, killing all 10 crew members onboard.

The incident happed early Tuesday near the naval base in Lumut, some 200 kilometres north-west of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia’s capital city.

Mohamed Nordin, defence minister, said the aircraft — a maritime operations helicopter and a Fennec military chopper — were rehearsing for a parade celebrating the 90th anniversary of the Royal Malaysian Navy, due to be held on Saturday.

One of the helicopters which was said to be carrying seven crew members onboard crashed in a stadium, while the other which had three passengers spiralled down near a swimming pool.

Videos circulating on social media showed several helicopters flying in formation, when one of the choppers’ rotor clipped another before both aircraft crashed into the ground.

2 Helicopters with the Royal Malaysian Navy collided earlier today over the Town of Lumut during a Rehearsal for Annual Naval Parade resulting in the Death of all 10 of the Crewmembers; the Helicopters, a AgustaWestland AW139HOM (M503-3) and a AS550 Fennec (M502-6) both Crashed… pic.twitter.com/Z0IwdpMVbG

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) April 23, 2024

Photos of the crash showed the completely destroyed remains of the aircraft.

Nordin said efforts are underway to verify the identities of the crew members killed, all of whom were below the age of 40.

Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysia’s prime minister, described the tragedy as “heart-wrenching” and “a great loss for the country”.

“Condolences to all the families of the victims and prayers for strength to face this calamity,” Ibrahim added.

The Royal Malaysian Navy said it would establish a committee to investigate the cause of the incident.

Five children have reportedly died of suffocation inside an abandoned vehicle in the Albishiri area of Minna, the Niger state capital.

The children were said to have gone missing on Sunday morning before they were found dead at about 6 p.m. on the same day.

Sources in the area said one of the children was the child of the owner of the car while another one was the child of a neighbour.

The remaining three were siblings, belonging to one Abdullahi Etsu of Etsu-tasha, from the Albishiri area.

In a statement on Monday, Wasiu Abiodun, police spokesperson in Niger,  confirmed the incident.

The police spokesperson said the children were between the ages of five and 13.

Abiodun said the children were found trapped in a Honda Civic vehicle in the area.

“On 21/4/2024 at about 6.30 pm, based on information received at Kpakungu Div, five children of about 5-13 years of age were found trapped in a Honda Civic vehicle with Reg No. GO 778 ABC at Albishiri area of Minna,” the statement reads.

“They were found to have suffocated in the vehicle, while their bodies were later removed by the various Parents, as Police visited the scene.

“However, the owner of the vehicle was invited for questioning, as the unfortunate incident is under investigation.”

Yinka Olomojobi, a law professor at Babcock University in Ogun, has been shot dead while resisting abduction.

Omolola Odutola, the Ogun police PRO, said two other persons were abducted in the Iperu area of the state at around the same time.

It was gathered that the incident happened on Friday around the Ajadeh Event Centre on Sagamu Road.

Odutola quoted eyewitnesses as saying that eight men dressed in black went into the relaxing lounge at 9:20 pm and opened fire indiscriminately.

She said the academic was shot in the chest for resisting abduction by the gunmen.

The PRO said the lecturer was rushed to the Babcock University Teaching Hospital (BUTH), where he was pronounced dead.

Odutola said one suspect has been arrested in connection with the incident. She added that an investigation has commenced on the matter.

“A suspicious coincidence led the police to arrest one Awada Ishaya “m” of Plateau state who was employed two weeks ago when the event center was launched as a security man for further interrogation,” she said.

The PRO said the manager of a car stand known as Dare and one other yet-to-be-identified person were taken captive by the gunmen.

The PRO said efforts are underway to apprehend the rest of the culprits and rescue the kidnapped victims.