A pilot and four Health Ministry personnel have been killed after their helicopter crashed in Miri, Sarawak yesterday afternoon.

The fatalities were confirmed by the chairman of the Miri Division Disaster Management Committee.

The victims were on official duty with the Flying Doctor Service at the time of the incident.

Meanwhile, a team from the Air Accident Investigation Bureau is due to arrive in Miri this afternoon, to start the crash investigation.

The Civil Aviation Authority also told the NST that the police, Fire Department and other agencies are also sending assets and personnel to assist with the probe. 

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Malaysia has seen an encouraging performance under the Programme for International Student Assessment or PISA 2025.

The results show our science literacy improved by three points, while reading literacy saw a five-point increase.

Our scores went up even as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development average declined.

However, Malaysia didn’t do too well in mathematics literacy…which saw an 11-point drop.

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The Met Department says there’s a high chance of a Super El Nino phenomenon developing towards the end of the year.

The extreme heat and dry conditions could see temperatures potentially reaching 40 degrees Celsius in some areas of the country from January to May.

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In a related development…

The Department says ash from the Anak Krakatau volcano eruption in Indonesia could reach Malaysia, although the risk of this happening is currently low.

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And, Singapore has announced that Prime Minister Lawrence Wong will see his annual salary increase by some 60 percent to 3.6 million Sing dollars.

Wong, who is already the world’s highest-paid political leader, plans to donate the increase to charity.