Phnom Penh, 17 July 2024: General Tea Seiha, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense, inspected the ongoing search and rescue operation for a helicopter that lost contact in the Cardamom Mountains. A spokesman for the Ministry of Defense confirmed that the search continues despite challenging weather conditions.

General Tea Seiha's presence in the operation area marks the fifth day of the search for the missing helicopter, which lost contact on the evening of July 12. The search efforts have yet to yield any results.

General Chhum Socheat, spokesman for the Ministry of Defense, confirmed on the Ministry's official Facebook page that joint forces of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces are actively continuing the mission. The difficult weather conditions in the area have made the search more challenging.

On July 12, a helicopter conducting a training mission lost contact with the Air Force headquarters while flying over the Cardamom Mountains in Pursat and Koh Kong provinces. The incident was attributed to unfavorable weather conditions.

Following the incident, General Moeng Samphan, Secretary of State of the Ministry of National Defense and Chairman of the Disaster Relief Committee, ordered the deployment of the 99th Transport Brigade and the 70th Brigade to search for the missing helicopter in Veal Veng district, Pursat province.

According to a flight plan letter from the Cambodian Air Force dated July 13, the missing helicopter, a Z-9 with flight number MH912, was on a training route from Phnom Penh to Thmor Da, Pursat, and back to Phnom Penh. The helicopter departed on July 12 at 11:00 am and was scheduled to return at 2:00 pm the same day. The pilot was identified as Kheng Chhay Yuth.