Crew member missing as Indonesian water-bombing helicopter crashes
Authorities are investigating the crash as rescuers search for the missing Indonesian crew member and treat the two Australian pilots for minor injuries.
- On Sunday, a helicopter crashed into the Barito River while scooping water for firefighting operations, with two Australian crew members rescued and one Indonesian crew member remaining missing.
- Indonesia has struggled for months to contain wildfires driven by El Nino, which have destroyed more than 1.9 million hectares across Sumatra, Borneo, and Papua, causing choking haze that drifted to Malaysia, Singapore, and East Timor.
- This incident marks the second firefighting helicopter crash in days, following a Wednesday military chopper that plunged into waters off Borneo, killing three people during operations in Tanjung Puting National Park.
- Dramatic video footage shows the Eurocopter EC225LP Super Puma being dragged downward after filling its bucket, eventually plunging nose-first into the river; the disaster mitigation agency had contracted the aircraft for water-bombing missions.
- Authorities are investigating the cause of Sunday's accident, which occurred during water-bombing maneuvers. Aside from aerial support, Indonesia relies on ground-based firefighters to combat the widespread blazes across the archipelago.
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The Independent
The Independent (US)Crew member dies after helicopter plunges into river in Indonesia
A helicopter used to fight forest fires fell on the Barito River in Indonesia during an operation to collect water. Images recorded the moment when the aircraft lost control during a maneuver near the surface and crashed into the water. The accident occurred on Sunday (8), in the Tabatan region, in the district of Barito Kuala, in the province of South Kalimantan. Read also: At least 20 immigrants die while trying to get to the Greek island of C…
(Seoul=Yonhap News) A firefighting helicopter deployed to extinguish a wildfire in Indonesia crashed into a river.
One killed as Indonesian firefighting helicopter crashes into river
JAKARTA – A crew member of a helicopter battling Indonesian wildfires was killed on Sunday when the aircraft crashed into a river on Borneo Island.The crash in South Kalimantan province was the second in days involving a firefighting aircraft, after a military helicopter plunged into the waters off Borneo four days ago, killing three people.Two Australian pilots survived the crash on Nov. 8 and were “safe”, Berton Panjaitan, a spokesman for the …
The accident occurred during water extraction - Two Australians survived, second helicopter crash in a few days
Crash of Indonesian water-bombing helicopter kills crew member
JAKARTA: A crew member of a helicopter battling Indonesian wildfires was killed on Sunday (Nov 8) when the aircraft crashed into a river as it scooped up water for an airborne drop, a local disaster agency said.
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