JAKARTA, Indonesia — Eight people died when their helicopter went down in the dense jungles of Indonesia’s Borneo Island while traveling between commercial palm oil operations, authorities confirmed Friday.
The Airbus H130 aircraft, operated by PT Matthew Air Nusantara, disappeared from communication systems Thursday just five minutes following its departure from Melawi district in West Kalimantan province. The flight was headed to a palm oil facility located in Kubu Raya district.
Recovery teams discovered the aircraft wreckage and retrieved the remains of all eight victims — including two pilots and six passengers — from the heavily forested terrain in Sekadau district, the National Search and Rescue Agency and Transportation Ministry reported.
Among the fatalities was one individual from Malaysia.
The Southeast Asian nation, home to approximately 270 million residents across thousands of islands, continues to struggle with recurring transportation disasters involving aircraft, helicopters, and maritime vessels.
