Helicopter crash pilot and navigator laid to rest
▶ Funerals for Jasim Abdullah Al Tunaiji and Saqr Saeed Al Yamahi
He was chosen by God to be a martyr and to die while performing his noble duty SAIF AL TUNAIJI Brother of killed airman
Two of the airmen who died when their search and rescue helicopter crashed into a mountain have been laid to rest.
About 2,000 people, including many emergency service and military personnel, attended the service for navigator Jasim Abdullah Al Tunaiji at Al Rams cemetery in Ras Al Khaimah on New Year’s Eve.
Al Tunaiji, 45, died in the crash during a rescue mission at Jebel Jais in Ras Al Khaimah at 5.50pm on Saturday.
The body of pilot Saqr Saeed Al Yamahi was laid to rest yesterday following a funeral prayer at Saeed Matar Al Kaabi Mosque in Al Qurayyah, Fujairah.
The helicopter crew are believed to have been trying to rescue an Indian national who had suffered injuries in a fall in the mountainous area. The aircraft is thought to have struck the world’s longest zipline ride, operated by the adventure company Toroverde.
The ride has been closed since the incident, and one of the three lines appears to have been severed or taken down. Investigators are still looking into the crash and the mountain access road is closed.
Ahmed Al Tunaiji, the airman’s brother, told The National that the family was proud of their brother and son. He was father to Amna, 17, Mohammed, 12, and Abdullah, 9.
“He was proud to carry out rescue missions and was keen to instil the quality of giving in the hearts of his children,” Ahmed said. “He urged them to be patriotic and spared no effort in bringing happiness to his family members in every way he could.”
He said his brother was always smiling, had a good sense of humour, and was loved by everyone in the community, standing by friends and family in good times and bad.
Jasim’s last message to his family and friends after fajr prayers on the day of the crash was about death and the importance of praying for those who had passed.
“It’s as if he was saying goodbye,” Ahmed said.
Another brother, Saif Al Tunaiji, 51, said their parents died two years ago.
“He was the first among us to follow them. May they all be in Paradise,” he said. “Words can not describe the kind of man he was and for that, he was chosen by God to be a martyr and to die while performing his noble duty.”
After the funeral, Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Ruler of RAK, offered condolences to Al Tunaiji’s family.
Pilot Hameed Mohamed Obaid Al Zaabi, and paramedic and winchman Mark Roxburgh, from South Africa, also died in the crash. Their funerals are expected in the coming days.