Indonesian Wildfire Helicopter Crashes Into River, Leaves One Crew Member Missing

An official said that a helicopter fighting wildfires in Indonesia crashed into a river on Sunday as it scooped water. Two crew members were rescued and one remains missing.

Crash Details

The crash happened in South Kalimantan province on Borneo Island. Two Australian nationals survived and are safe, according to national disaster mitigation agency spokesman Berton Panjaitan. The third crew member, who is an Indonesian citizen, is still unaccounted for. Video footage showed the aircraft being slowly dragged downward after filling its bucket from the Barito River before plunging nose-first into the water. The aircraft was a Eurocopter EC225LP Super Puma hired by the disaster mitigation agency for water-bombing work.

Wider Crisis

This is the second firefighting helicopter crash in days in the area. On Wednesday, a military chopper crashed off Borneo, killing three of the eight people on board during a mission in Tanjung Puting National Park. Indonesia has faced months of severe blazes across Sumatra, Borneo, and Papua islands. These fires have destroyed more than 1.9 million hectares, according to Nusantara Atlas, and produced thick haze affecting nearby countries like Malaysia, Singapore, and East Timor. A strong El Nino weather pattern driving dry conditions has fueled the fires.

Context

Wildfires in Indonesia are a recurring seasonal challenge made worse during dry weather cycles like El Nino. Aerial water-bombing operations are a key tool used alongside ground crews to battle fires in remote forest areas. However, these missions carry high risks due to the difficult flying conditions near rivers and the ocean.