Contact Loss Helicopter In South Kalimantan's Mentewe Was Seen Swept Away On Mount Mandin

JAKARTA - Residents of Tuyan Village, Gunung Raya Village, Mentewe District, Tanah Bumbu, South Kalimantan (South Kalimantan), revealed that a BK117 D3 helicopter that lost contact in the area emitted smoke while flying low a few hundred meters and exploded and fell on Mandian Mountain, Mandian Damar Village.

Residents of Tuyan Village, Panamon and Rosidi, in Gunung Raya Village, Tanah Bumbu, Tuesday, said the helicopter crashed on Monday (1/9) between 09.00-10.00 WITA.

Every day we farm here. Even yesterday we saw while farming, the helicopter while flying low had emitted white smoke and the sound of an explosion on Mount Mandin Damar, "said Panamon.

He said the helicopter that crashed was blue. After exploding on Mount Mandin Damar, then the trail disappeared in the valley flanked by two mountains.

"After that we didn't see anymore, the helicopter was gone," said Panamon.

Currently, the joint SAR Team from SAR Banjarmasin, TNI, Polri, volunteers and local communities, conducted a second day of search in the area by dividing the team by air and land.

In fact, the Regent of Tanah Bumbu Andi Rudi Latif has formed a Rapid Action Task Force to assist in the search for helicopters that crashed in the forest area.

The Tanah Bumbu Regency Government has provided a Fast Action Task Force with equipment and logistics for the next few days to adjust the emergency response status for seven determined by the Banjarmasin Basarnas.

The type BK117 D3 helicopter belonging to Estindo Air carrying eight passengers including the pilot, lost contact while flying around Mentewe, Tanah Bumbu, South Kalimantan Province on Monday (1/9) at around 08.54 WITA.

The helicopter carried eight people, consisting of a pilot, an engineer, and six passengers, namely Capt. Haryanto, Eng Hendra, Mark Werren, Yudi Febrian, Andys Rissa Pasulu, Santha Kumar, Claudine Quito, and Iboy Irfan Rosa.

The helicopter with a flight route from Kotabaru, South Kalimantan to Palangka Raya, Central Kalimantan, was previously reported by the Banjarmasin SAR Office, which is estimated to have crashed around the Mandin Damar Waterfall, Mentewe District, Tanah Bumbu Regency.

The helicopter took off from Syamsir Alam Airport, Kotabaru Regency, South Kalimantan, on Monday (1/9) at around 08.46 WITA with an estimated arrival at Palangka Raya Airport at 10.15 WITA.

However, the last contact was recorded at 08.54 WITA, before the plane could no longer be contacted by AirNav from Kotabaru, Banjarmasin, Balikpapan and Palangka Raya City, Central Kalimantan, and then reports of lost contacts received at 12.02 WITA.