Crew member missing as Indonesian water-bombing helicopter crashes
A firefighting helicopter crashed into a river in South Kalimantan, Indonesia, while conducting water-bombing operations against wildfires. One crew member was killed, while two Australian pilots survived the incident.
Why it matters
The crash highlights the ongoing dangers faced by emergency responders in Southeast Asia as they struggle to contain widespread wildfires causing regional haze.
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.
Local residents help evacuate a firefighting helicopter from a river in South Kalimantan, Indonesia on Nov 8, 2026. (Image: Reddit)
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, told AFP earlier on Sunday. Further details of their condition were not immediately available.
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