Thirteen people died when an Indonesian army helicopter carrying construction workers to build a military outpost crashed in the jungles of Borneo and burst into flames Saturday.
The helicopter was carrying 19 crew and construction workers, as well as building materials, en route to the outpost in Malinau district, North Kalimantan province, near the Malaysian border.
But as the aircraft came in to land, its back rotor blades suddenly started spinning out of control and the helicopter smashed into a cliff, said local military commander Dicky Wainal Usman.
The Russian-made, Mi-17 aircraft was completely burnt out following the accident in the remote area, said military spokesman Iskandar Sitompul in Jakarta.
It was just the latest deadly aircraft accident in the sprawling Indonesian archipelago, which relies heavily on air transport to link its many islands but has one of Asia's poorest aviation safety records.
"Thirteen people died in the crash while the rest suffered burn injuries," Sitompul told AFP.
Wainal confirmed that six people survived, four of whom had serious burns and two had more minor burns.
An army spokesman, Rukman Ahmad, said: "An Mi-17 helicopter was involved in an accident near outpost Bulan. It was carrying construction workers to build the outpost."
Eight of those who died were civilian construction workers, while five others were crew members, who were military personnel, said Sitompul.
The aircraft had picked up the construction workers in Apau Ping village before heading to the outpost, which was nearby.
The military will conduct an investigation and planned to search the area on Sunday morning, Wainal said.
He said that officials' initial suspicion was that the helicopter, which had been in operation since 2010, crashed because of the rotor issue and bad weather.
The area is so remote it can only be reached by helicopter or river, an AFP reporter on Borneo said.
Borneo is a vast, biodiverse island shared between Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei, covered in lush jungle and home to rare animals such as orangutans.
There have been numerous fatal air crashes over the years in Indonesia and some have involved military aircraft.
Last year an air force jet crashed into a military housing complex in the capital Jakarta and sparked a huge fire, killing all seven crew members and four people on the ground.
In 2009, four people were killed after an Indonesian navy aircraft crashed into a swamp on Borneo.
Earlier that year, at least 101 people died when an Indonesian military transport plane carrying soldiers and their families crashed into homes and erupted in flames.
AFP
Sun Nov 10 2013
A helicopter used by the Indonesian Search and Rescue team prepares for landing in Tarakan. --AFP photo
Filem Sheriff pamer sisi berbeza Kamal Affandi sebagai pegawai polis
Filem Sheriff menemui penonton di pawagam mulai 18 April.
Bursa Malaysia dijangka mengalami keadaan tidak banyak berubah minggu depan
FBM KLCI dijangka turun naik dalam julat 1,528 hingga 1,560 minggu depan, dengan sokongan serta-merta pada 1,520, diikuti oleh 1,508.
Noktah kemiskinan tegar, isu kewarganegaraan dibincang bersama MPN PKR Sabah
Anwar yang juga Presiden PKR berkata MPN PKR Sabah telah mengutarakan kepentingan memesatkan usaha menoktahkan kemiskinan tegar di Sabah.
Tun Hanif Omar lakar sejarah Ketua Polis Negara paling lama, termuda
Allahyarham dilantik memegang jawatan Ketua Polis Negara keempat pada usia 35 tahun bermula 8 Jun 1974.
AWANI Ringkas: PM di Sabah, lawatan kerja sehari
Ikuti rangkuman berita utama yang menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari di Astro AWANI menerusi AWANI Ringkas.
Amelia Henderson jawab tuduhan pakai rantai dengan loket salib
Aktres i.D berikut menerima kecaman kerana memakai loket balerina yang disalah erti oleh warga maya dengan lambang salib.
Mengenang Tun Mohammed Hanif Omar 1939-2024
Baik bagi mengenang pemergian tokoh negara berjiwa besar Allahyarham Tun Haniff Omar
Bersama kami di talian adalah Tan Sri Mohd Annuar Zaini yang juga merupakan tokoh pentadbiran yang kita kenali
Bersama kami di talian adalah Tan Sri Mohd Annuar Zaini yang juga merupakan tokoh pentadbiran yang kita kenali
Perluasan konflik serantau, Asia Barat
Prof Dr Azmi Hassan, Felo Kanan Akademi Penyelidikan Strategik Nusantara NASR
'Saya akan beri keputusan dalam masa singkat' - Anwar
Ketua-ketua cabang di Sabah telah memberikan pandangan dan keputusan akan dipertimbang dalam masa terdekat.
Wanita usung mayat bapa saudara ke bank demi tanda tangan dokumen pinjaman wang
Erika memberitahu pekerja bank bahawa bapa saudaranya mahu melakukan pinjaman sebanyak 17,000 reais (RM15,523).
Kerajaan Brunei nafi penglibatan projek Trans Borneo Railway
Kerajaan Brunei Darussalam mengesahkan tidak pernah menawarkan ataupun melantik mana-mana syarikat tempatan mahupun luar negeri untuk mengendalikan projek kereta api laju Trans Borneo Railway
Projek kereta api berkelajuan tinggi, Sabah belum terima maklumat rasmi
Kerajaan Sabah belum menerima sebarang pemakluman rasmi mengenai dakwaan sebuah syarikat dari Brunei yang mengumumkan pelaksanaan projek rangkaian kereta api berkelajuan tinggi pertama di Borneo.
Penggambaran di Borneo perlu dapatkan permit daripada kerajaan negeri - Finas
Walaupun produksi mempunyai lesen yang telah dikeluarkan Finas, mereka tertakluk mengikut peraturan yang telah ditetapkan negeri berkenaan.
Insentif pengeluaran getah November 2022 diaktifkan di Semenanjung, Sabah & Sarawak
Harga purata peringkat ladang bagi 'cup lump' atau getah sekerap pada November 2022 berada pada RM2.20 sekilogram bagi Semenanjung.
Pasca PRU15: Calon TPM dari Borneo perlu wakili etnik majoriti - Penganalisis
Menjadi satu pengiktirafan besar sekiranya suara etnik Iban atau Dayak dapat diangkat menerusi wakil mereka di peringkat pusat.
Lima perkara menarik anda patut terokai di Kuching, Sarawak
Dengan sekatan dan prosedur tertentu untuk ke luar negara, ini peluang terbaik untuk para pencinta alam sekitar untuk melancong di dalam negara - terutama di Kuching, Sarawak.
Fly2Campus bantu pelajar dapatkan penerbangan pulang ke kampus
Pelajar Institusi Pengajian Tinggi (IPT) yang ingin pulang ke kampus digalakkan menggunakan aplikasi Fly2Campus' yang telah disediakan Kementerian Pengajian Tinggi (KPT).
Kepulauan Borneo, pasaran baharu luaskan pemasaran produk
Tidak hanya menumpukan kepada pasaran di Semenanjung Malaysia, pasaran di Sabah, Sarawak dan Wilayah Persekutuan Labuan juga mempunyai potensi besar dengan menawarkan kelebihan yang menguntungkan.
Ahli etnografi kelahiran Sarawak, Benedict Sandin diraikan Google
Beliau merupakan anak Sarawak pertama menjadi kurator Muzium Sarawak.
Ikan laga spesies Betta nuluhon ditemukan di Sabah
Ikan laga yang baru ditemukan ini biasanya terdapat di sungai cetek dengan aliran air yang jernih di barat Sabah.