Arabic version: أسترالي ونيوزيلندي ينجوان من تحطم مروحية في بورنيو
According to ABC News, Australian Michael Betteridge and New Zealander Hugh Page survived after their helicopter crashed into a river in Indonesia while collecting water for firefighting operations. Indonesian navigator Yayan Supyansuri died in the incident.
Local authorities said the helicopter nosedived into the Barito River in South Kalimantan province on the island of Borneo. It had been contracted to Indonesian authorities to help fight forest and land fires during the country’s worst fire season in more than a decade.
Video posted online showed people rescuing Mr Betteridge and Mr Page from the water shortly after the crash. They were then treated at a military hospital. Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it was providing consular assistance to an Australian rescued safely, while New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said its embassy in Jakarta was making further enquiries.
Indonesia’s National Disaster Management Agency said it would facilitate an official investigation into the cause of the crash and conduct a safety evaluation of aerial operations. The review will cover fleet readiness, water-bombing procedures, aircrew fitness and qualifications, weather conditions and site-specific characteristics.
The crash followed another water-bombing helicopter accident in Central Kalimantan on November 4, when three Indonesian crew members were killed. Forest and land fires have affected parts of Kalimantan, Sumatra and Papua, with toxic smoke and haze linked to more than 400,000 acute respiratory infections, according to Indonesia’s health ministry.
