We hear about and watch on TV some misfortunes that befell people who were overseas, away from their home countries, whether they were on vacation, studies or business. The families sent them off to the airport not expecting that it would be the last time seeing them alive. One would think that these heartbreaking tragedies only happen to other people, but in reality, there are Bruneian families that have gone through such tragic loss of loved ones.

Here are the 7 tragic deaths of Bruneians overseas:

1. In 2005, a Brunei soldier died when he fell while rappelling from a helicopter during a heliborne training at Sembawang Air Base in Singapore. The helicopter was hovering about 20 metres above ground.

2. In 2000, a 26-year-old Bruneian man died after being stung by a jellyfish while swimming at the Pasir Bogak Beach in Pulau Pangkor, near Lumut in the central state of Perak. He was studying at the International Islamic University in Gombak, Selangor and was holidaying in Perak. He was swimming with five of his friends when he was stung and collapsed. He was rushed to the Pulau Pangkor Health Centre where he died.

3. In 1983, a Royal Brunei Air Force pilot lost his life during a flight training in the UK when the helicopter he was piloting crashed on a ridge. Chillingly, 7 years later, in 1990, another Royal Brunei Air Force pilot, on a flight training in the UK, would also crash the aircraft he piloted. He however survived the crash and went on to become the Chief of Air Force decades later.

4. In 2013, what was supposed to be a regular field research trip by UBD geology students and their lecturers turned into tragedy when a number of them were swept away by strong currents while crossing a river in Tawau during the last day of their trip to Sabah. Two of the students didn’t survive. The bodies were flown back by the Royal Brunei Air Force aircraft.

5. In 2011, Brunei-owned Sunshine Borneo Tour and Travel bus carrying 31 Bruneian tourists and 2 bus employees lost control and overturned at a sharp bend before hitting a tree at Ranau-Tamparuli road in Sabah, killing 07 passengers and injuring 24 others. The then Sabah State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister said the accident was believed to have been caused by faulty brakes, and the downhill area where the accident occurred was known to be hard to negotiate.

6. In 2015, a Brunei socialite, living out of the closet in Thailand, was found dead in a hotel room, believed to be a victim of foul play.

7. In 1985, a Brunei student in the UK was found dead on her bed of what seemed to be from carbon monoxide poisoning. The death was ruled as an unfortunate accident, one that is shrouded in mystery and unanswered questions when a crucifix was found on the Muslim girl. Her parents would later build a very conspicuous building in her memory along the old main road in the Belait District.