A search for victims had been under way since Sunday.

The helicopter was ferrying soldiers and supplies to an army unit near Malaysia's border with Indonesia when radio contact was lost.

Seven other people - five soldiers and two crew members - survived the crash, the defence ministry said.

Another helicopter crash in Borneo last month killed seven people, including five government officials. Dense jungle at the crash site meant it took 17 days for searchers to find the helicopter's wreckage.

Signals blocked

It is thought that the helicopter involved in the latest incident was less than 20km (12.5 miles) from last month's crash site when contact was broken with air traffic control.

The mountainous terrain often blocks radio signals.

Defence Minister Najib Razak said officials were still investigating the cause of the accident.

The head of Malaysia's air accident investigation unit has blamed all but six of the 61 helicopter crashes in the country since 1980 on pilot error.

Speaking hours before the latest disappearance, he said that pilots often failed to judge the weather conditions, the terrain or their flight path correctly.