ANN/THE STAR – Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence of Cambodia General Tea Seiha clarified that only two people were aboard the helicopter that went missing in the Cardamom Mountains.
He urged the public and media to stop spreading false information, as some reports incorrectly claimed there were seven people on board.
The Z-9 helicopter disappeared from radar on July 12 between the Pursat and Koh Kong provinces, with bad weather cited as the cause of the incident.
Deputy Prime Minister Tea said, “I am saddened by the (false) news that seven people have disappeared with a helicopter, and now I would like to say that if we can stop it, we should stop spreading information beyond the facts.
“The Cambodian government is waiting to hear from the Ministry of National Defense, and there is nothing to hide.”
He asked social media players, especially a small number of journalists, not to take this situation to spread false information that confuses the public.
The minister added that he believed that the helicopter had got into difficulties due to bad weather.
“In this flight mission, there was one pilot and one assistant, so only two flew at the targets set in the Air Force mission. On that day, the weather was unfavourable and we had lost contact for the second day now.”
