Co-pilot Fariq Abdul Hamid, 27, was a dear big brother at home, said his younger brother Afiq, 20, who was still trying to come to terms with the news.

“This is just heartbreaking,” Mr Afiq told Malaysian newspaper New Sunday Times. “I do not know what to tell you. I am not doing okay.”

Mr Afiq described his brother, the eldest of five siblings, as responsible, kind and warm. He was still hoping for the best for his brother, a Langkawi Aerospace Flying Academy graduate. But as the situation grew grimmer on Sunday night, he tweeted: “I’m coming to find you, even if it takes all night.”

— PHOTO: INSTAGRAM