Indonesian Helicopter Carrying 8 People Goes Missing in Borneo Rainforest
On Monday, September 1st, an Indonesian helicopter carrying eight people lost contact after taking off for 8 minutes in a forest on the tropical island of Kalimantan, also known as Borneo. Local rescue agencies have confirmed that search and rescue operations are currently underway.
Kalimantan is home to vast expanses of tropical rainforest, ranking as one of the largest in the world.
According to reports from the Associated Press, the missing aircraft is an Airbus BK117 D-3 helicopter owned by the charter company Eastindo Air. The helicopter departed Kotabaru Airport in South Kalimantan province at 8:46 a.m. on Monday, en route to Palangkaraya city in Central Kalimantan with an expected arrival time of 10:15 a.m.
At 8:54 a.m., the helicopter made its last contact with air traffic control before losing communication.
I Putu Sudayana, the head of the Banjarmasin Search and Rescue Agency, stated that the agency received the report of the missing aircraft at 12:02 p.m. on Monday.
He estimated that the helicopter went missing in the Mantewe forest area in Tanahbumbu, carrying a pilot, an engineer, and six passengers.
Sudayana mentioned that both ground and aerial search teams have been deployed, including a helicopter equipped for firefighting.
“Our search efforts will continue for seven days from the day of the incident. We hope to locate the aircraft today and that everyone is safe,” Sudayana said.
Indonesia heavily relies on air transportation to connect its thousands of islands, but the country has a poor aviation safety record with several fatal accidents in recent years.