KUALA LUMPUR, April 24 — Royal Malaysian Navy (TLDM) Maritime Operations (HOM-AW139) helicopter pilot Lt Commander Wan Rezaudeen Kamal Zainal Abidin, who perished in the helicopter crash at the TLDM Lumut Base yesterday morning, had expressed his wish to retire early.

His cousin, Saiful Azmi Roslani, said that Wan Rezaudeen was cheerful but not very talkative and was a beacon of hope in his family.

"During the recent Aidilfitri celebration, Wan Rezaudeen’s father told us that his son had expressed a desire to retire early from the TLDM.

"He was also passionate about motorcycling. Every time we met, the conversation would always revolve around motorcycles,” he told reporters at the Salahuddin Al-Ayubi Mosque here today.

Meanwhile, another cousin of the deceased, Siti Arbaiyah Bahudin, said they had not met for over two years due to the constraints of his duties as a member of TLDM.

"We were close from childhood but, as we grew up, everyone had their commitments. We were shocked by the incident which I learned from my brother who was in Kuala Kangsar,” she said.

In the 9.32am incident yesterday, 10 TLDM personnel were killed when two TLDM helicopters crashed in Lumut while conducting a third rehearsal for a flypast in conjunction with the TLDM Fleet Open Day, scheduled to be held this Saturday.

The post-mortem on the 10 crash victims was conducted at the Forensic Department of the Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital (HRPB), Ipoh, Perak and was completed at 2.20pm today.

The bodies of eight Muslim victims were taken to the 23rd Batallion of the Royal Malay Regiment Camp, Ipoh for funeral prayers before being buried in cemeteries as requested by family members while the other two victims’ remains were taken to their respective residences in Sitiawan and Kuching.

The body of Wan Rezaudeen Kamal will be buried at the Raudhatul Sakinah Islamic Cemetery, Batu Muda, here, after Maghrib. — Bernama