A helicopter crash in the Philippines has left two dead, including a Malaysian national, and the pilot critically injured after an emergency landing.

MANILA: A helicopter crash in a town southeast of Manila has resulted in two fatalities and left the pilot critically injured.

The aircraft, carrying five people including two Malaysians, went down in a grassy vacant lot in Pililla, Rizal province.

Rizal provincial police officer Ramjae Pangga confirmed a Malaysian and a Filipino passenger were killed in the crash.

Pililla town mayor John Masinsin said the pilot sustained critical injuries in the incident.

“The three survivors are … still in shock, especially the pilot,” Masinsin told AFP.

He praised the pilot for managing to land the aircraft in a residential area without causing further casualties on the ground.

Pangga stated the emergency landing was forced “because their engine was about to shut down”.

The survivors were being transported to a major hospital in Metro Manila at their families’ request.

An investigation by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines is now underway.

 The Sun Malaysia