Eight individuals tragically lost their lives in a helicopter crash that occurred shortly after the aircraft took off and disappeared from radar over the expansive palm oil plantations of Borneo. The Airbus H130, belonging to PT Matthew Air Nusantara, went missing five minutes after departing from Melawi district in West Kalimantan province en route to Kubu Raya district. Search and rescue teams located the wreckage in the forests of Sekadau district, where they found the bodies of the two crew members and six passengers.
The victims, all male, included a Malaysian national, according to civil aviation director general Lukman F. Laisa. The deceased were transported to the provincial capital of Pontianak. The official statement confirmed that all passengers and crew members had perished in the crash.
Indonesia, a vast archipelago with a population of approximately 270 million, has faced numerous transportation accidents, such as plane crashes and ferry sinkings. In a separate incident in January, a plane crash on Sulawesi island claimed the lives of 11 individuals. The search and rescue teams recovered a man’s body from a deep ravine near the aircraft debris on Mount Bulusaraung.
Additional wreckage, including parts of the aircraft frame and passenger seats, along with what is believed to be the engine of the crashed turboprop ATR 42-500, was identified by the search teams. The aircraft, operated by Indonesia Air Transport, was en route from Yogyakarta to Makassar when it disappeared from radar during its approach alignment correction instructed by air traffic control.
The plane was carrying eight crew members and three passengers from the Marine Affairs and Fisheries Ministry on an airborne maritime surveillance mission. The search operations were hindered by strong winds, heavy fog, and rugged terrain in the area, as reported by Maj. Gen. Bangun Nawoko, the military commander of South Sulawesi.