A photo believed to be taken before the tragedy shows Joanna (left) and her colleagues. – Photo from Kelvin Yii Lee Wuen/Facebook
KUCHING: Sarawak has lost a ‘star’ with the demise of Royal Malaysian Navy personnel Joanna Felicia Rohna in the helicopter tragedy in Perak today, said Balai Ringin assemblyman Datuk Snowdan Lawan.
Snowdan, who is Deputy Minister for Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts, said the 24-year-old had studied at SMK Balai Ringin although she was from another state constituency.
“I feel sadness and remorse on the helicopter crash tragedy today that took the life of a Sarawakian navy personnel Joanna Felicia anak Rohna, attached at TLDM, Lumut, Perak. The helicopter crashed during training.
“She domiciled from another DUN area but happened to have studied at SMK Balai Ringin then. My sincere condolences to the family. We lost a star,” he said in a statement today.
It is learnt that Joanna is from Kampung Sumpas Tampek, Jalan Batu 11, in Serian. SHe is married and has two children.
She was among 10 Navy personnel killed in the helicopter tragedy involving two helicopters.
Joanna was in the HOM M503-3 helicopter with seven crew members.
The helicopter had collided with a Fennec helicopter at 9.32 am at the Lumut base as they were making a fly-past when rehearsing for a parade to be held in conjunction with the navy’s 90th anniversary early next month.
Words of sympathy and condolences for the families of the deceased have been flooding social media.
Among them was Bandar Kuching MP Kelvin Yii, who also shared a photo of Joanna, which is believed to be a wefie taken before the tragedy.