All eight occupants aboard a helicopter were confirmed dead after the aircraft went down in Indonesia’s West Kalimantan province, authorities reported on Friday.
Search and rescue teams are currently working to recover the victims’ bodies and the scattered wreckage from the remote crash site.
According to Mohammad Syafii, head of Indonesia’s rescue agency, the Airbus H130 helicopter lost communication on Thursday morning, roughly five minutes after it departed from a plantation area in Melawi.
The aircraft’s sudden disappearance prompted an immediate search operation in the region.
“The location of the crash or loss of contact is in a densely forested area with steep hilly terrain,” Syafii said, adding that rescue personnel had located debris believed to be the helicopter’s tail about 3 km (2 miles) west of the last known contact point.
Authorities said the cause of the accident has not yet been determined. A local rescue agency spokesperson confirmed that all six passengers and two crew members onboard died in the crash.
Rescue efforts continued on Friday, with military and police teams attempting to reach the site via land routes. Officials also noted that the helicopter was operated by Matthew Air Nusantara, while the plantation area where it departed is owned by Indonesian palm oil company Citra Mahkota.
