Indonesian Firefighting Helicopter Crashes Into River Killing One Crew Member

A firefighting helicopter crashed into a river in Indonesia's South Kalimantan province on Sunday while attempting to collect water for an aerial drop, resulting in the death of one crew member.

Two Australian pilots aboard the Eurocopter EC225LP Super Puma survived the impact and were reported to be safe, according to officials from the national disaster mitigation agency.

The aircraft went down in the Barito River after appearing to lose control while maneuvering with a bucket used for water-bombing operations, according to video footage of the incident.

The loss of the helicopter adds to the challenges facing Indonesia as it struggles to contain massive wildfires that have destroyed more than 1.9 million hectares of land this year.

These fires have generated a thick haze affecting neighboring countries and are exacerbated by the El Nino weather phenomenon, which has triggered severe drought conditions across the archipelago.

"This incident occurred while the air fleet was conducting a water-bombing operation," said Berton Panjaitan, a spokesman for the national disaster mitigation agency.

The helicopter was operated by a private firm contracted by the government to assist ground-based firefighters in suppressing the blazes, Panjaitan said.

A search and rescue operation was launched immediately following the crash to locate the missing crew member.

"A joint search and rescue team recovered the final victim at 6:08 pm local time during a diving operation involving four divers," the agency stated in a release.

This crash follows another aviation disaster on Wednesday, when a military helicopter plunged into waters off Borneo while scooping seawater, an accident that resulted in three fatalities.

Authorities have not yet determined the cause of either crash, though both occurred while the aircraft were performing similar water-collection maneuvers for firefighting missions.

Investigations into the circumstances surrounding the Sunday crash are expected to continue as officials evaluate the safety of ongoing aerial firefighting efforts in the region.