Crash of Indonesian water-bombing helicopter kills crew member
A crew member died after a firefighting helicopter crashed into a river in Indonesia while collecting water to combat wildfires. This incident follows another recent helicopter crash in the same region, raising concerns about the safety of ongoing aerial firefighting operations.
Why it matters
The crash highlights the dangerous conditions faced by emergency responders in Indonesia as the country struggles to manage widespread wildfires.
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.
The crash in Borneo Island's South Kalimantan province was the second in days involving a firefighting aircraft, after a military helicopter plunged into the waters off Borneo on Wednesday, killing three people.
Two Australian pilots survived Sunday's crash and were "safe", Berton Panjaitan, a spokesman for the national disaster mitigation agency, said earlier on Sunday. Further details of their condition were not immediately available.
Dramatic video footage showed the firefighting helicopter being slowly dragged downward after filling its bucket in the Barito River, eventually plunging nose-first into the water.
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Indonesian Firefighting Helicopter Crashes Into River Killing One Crew Member
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