Hundreds of thousands of people from the Borneo Evangelical Church today mourned the death of their leader Pastor Kalip Basar,49 who perished in a helicopter crash near a remote timber camp in Limbang Division, northern Sarawak, yesterday.

Also killed in the incident was Captain Gabriel Ujie, 39 from Sri Aman Division. Reports attributed the crash to poor weather conditions. There were only two people on board.

According to Lawas police chief Sussain Janui, who was quoted in a news report today, the helicopter belonging to Hornbill Skyways Sdn Bhd crashed after hitting a tree.

Meanwhile, Ujie was said to be an experienced pilot, who several years ago had saved a lost British commando in Kinabalu National Park in Sabah. He was formerly attached to the Royal Malaysian Air Force.

New generation

News of Pastor Kalip's death sent shockwaves through the Borneo Evangelical Church (SIB) community, as he was much loved by his congregation.

One church member and the late pastor's friend, Freddie Acho described him as someone who represented the new generation of church leaders.

Pastor Kalip, who hails from Miri, was reportedly on his way to attend the annual prayer meeting at Mount Murud, described in a church brochure as the 'House of Prayer for All Nations."

Church followers revere the mountain and call it 'Gunung Doa' (prayer mountain).

SIB was initially started among the indigenous community, namely the Orang Ulu or upriver communities in northern Sarawak, such as the Baram, Limbang and Lawas.

But in recent years, it has begun to attract followers from other communities, especially Chinese who now form a dominant number and it has spread beyond the shores of Sarawak to Sabah and even Peninsular Malaysia.

According Acho, there are between 300,000 and 400,000 followers in the country today.