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Authorities remove helicopter wreckage in Bali as survivors look on
Chief of the Denpasar quick response unit, Comr. I Nyoman Sugianyar Ardika, said the helicopter crashed between cliffs in the area, making the removal challenging.
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Search and rescue officials look at the wreckage of a crashed Bell 5050 helicopter in South Kuta, Badung, Bali, on July 19, 2024. (-/Basarnas Denpasar)
Bali Police recovered on Sunday the wreckage of a helicopter that crashed last weekend in South Kuta, Badung regency.
Chief of the Denpasar quick response unit, Comr. I Nyoman Sugianyar Ardika, said the helicopter went down between cliffs in the area, making the removal procedure challenging.
"Yes, [the recovery process was a bit tough], but we worked together with everyone so that it could run well and smoothly," he told reporters at the crash site on Sunday, as quoted by Kompas.com.
Authorities removed the helicopter wreckage in approximately one hour with the help of heavy equipment. It was then transported by truck to the Garuda Wisnu Kencana (GWK) helipad in Uluwatu, Badung regency.
The whole evacuation process was witnessed by three of the five passengers on board, who all survived the accident, they were Indonesian national Eloira Decti Paskilah, as well as Australian tourists Chriestope Pierre Marrot Castellat and Russel James Harris.
Read also: Five survive helicopter crash in Bali
Eloira told reporters that she was mentally unprepared to go back to the crash site, but forced herself to do it nevertheless, to witness the evacuation process.
“That we were able to survive the accident was already a miracle, not every helicopter crash ends without casualties,” Eloira said.
She went on to add that she and the other passengers do not plan to file any charges against the helicopter’s operator, saying that it had shown enough responsibility and support when she and the other passengers were in hospital.
The helicopter took off from the GWK area for a tour around Bali at 2:33 p.m. last Friday, but crashed five minutes later after kite strings got entangled in its propellers.
Earlier this month on July 2, a helicopter was forced to land just moments after take-off in Tanjung Benoa for a similar reason. No casualties were reported in that incident.
The two incidents have prompted the Transportation Ministry to engage in more intensive outreach on the dangers of kites and monitoring through coordination with the Bali administration so as not to risk aviation safety and security.
