TANAH BUMBU – The search for the Estindo Air helicopter BK117 D3, which lost contact in the Mentewe area, Tanah Bumbu Regency, South Kalimantan, continues to expand. The government has deployed two additional helicopters belonging to the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) and the National Police Headquarters.
The Head of the Banjarmasin Search and Rescue Office, I Putu Sudayana, explained that the BNPB helicopter is scheduled to take off from Sjamsudin Noor Air Force Base for the search location on Tuesday morning at around 7:15–7:30 a.m. WITA. Meanwhile, the National Police Headquarters helicopter will depart from Palangka Raya, Central Kalimantan, for Banjarmasin on standby.
"The two helicopters will comb two search zones based on the coordinates of the last contact with the Estindo Air helicopter, taking into account the high risk in the hilly terrain," Putu said, as quoted by ANTARA, Tuesday, September 2.
The search operation was led by the SAR Mission Coordinator (SMC) of the Banjarmasin Search and Rescue Agency (SAR Banjarmasin) and involved various elements, including the Operations Directorate and the Alert Directorate of Basarnas, the Palangka Raya SAR Office, AirNav, the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), as well as pilots from the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), and the Indonesian National Police (Polri).
On land, a joint team consisting of the Tanah Bumbu Mobile Brigade Corps (Brimob), Basarnas, the Batulicin and Kotabaru Alert Units, the Resort Police, and the local Military District Command (Kodim) had searched the first lost-contact location (LKP 1). However, as of Monday evening, no sign of the helicopter had been found. The team is now moving towards LKP 2.
"Personnel have reached the top of the hill. Some are descending to search for communication signals to report on the situation on the ground. The route is still passable by double-cabin vehicles," explained Putu.
The Banjarmasin Search and Rescue Agency has also set up a field post on the Banjarmasin-Batulicin Main Road in Mentewe. It is possible that an additional post will be established between LKP 2 and the main post, approximately 3.5–4 kilometers away, to facilitate the flow of information.
Putu emphasized that the search will continue to be intensified despite the dynamic weather and hilly terrain. "Air and ground searches must be carried out in an integrated manner," he said.
The Estindo Air BK117 D3 helicopter lost contact on Monday morning while flying in the Mentewe area. The aircraft was carrying eight people: the pilot, an engineer, and six passengers: Capt. Haryanto, Eng. Hendra, Mark Werren, Yudi Febrian, Andys Rissa Pasulu, Santha Kumar, Claudine Quito, and Iboy Irfan Rosa.
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