SABAH — Two people have died and several others were injured after a Twin Otter aircraft belonging to MASWings, a subsidiary of Malaysia Airlines, crashed while attempting to land at the Kudat Airport this afternoon (Oct 10).

Other than a 69-year-old local man, Star Online reported that the 23-year-old co-pilot of the plane, Mr Marc Joel Barsih, has died at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Kota Kinabalu. The co-pilot died from multiple head and body injuries. He was the son of a helicopter pilot with Sabah Air.

The aircraft, which was carrying 16 people on a flight from Kota Kinabalu, overshot the runway while trying to land and crashed into a house at nearby Kampung Sin-San.

A woman and her 11-year-old son who were in the living room escaped unhurt.

Malaysia Airlines (MAS) in an earlier statement confirmed the fatality and said this is the first incident involving a MASWings plane in Kudat.

MAS said that the plane, operating from Kota Kinabalu to Kudat, had crashed short of the runway of the Kudat airport.

Police confirmed saying that the aircraft appeared to have landed short of the runway and ended up near a vacant house in nearby Kampung Sin-San.

In its statement, MAS said, “Focus of the airline is on the rescue of the passengers and crew.

“We will continue to monitor the situation at the crash site and update the situation.” THE MALAYSIAN INSIDER