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View all search resultsWater-bombing helicopter crash kills one in Central Kalimantan
An Indonesian military helicopter carrying eight people on a firefighting mission crashed in waters off Borneo island on Wednesday, killing a crew member.
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An Indonesian Air Force trooper signals a helicopter during a water bombing mission at a peatland in Banjarbaru, South Kalimantan on Sept. 10, 2026. (Antara/Asprilla Dwi Adha)
A
n Indonesian military helicopter carrying eight people on a firefighting mission crashed in waters off Borneo island on Wednesday, killing a crew member, the army said.
The Southeast Asian archipelago has for months been struggling to control wildfires that have burned through large swathes of Sumatra, Borneo and Papua islands, causing choking haze that drifted to neighboring Malaysia, East Timor and Singapore.
The helicopter took off on Wednesday morning from Seruyan district in Central Kalimantan province to fight fires in the Tanjung Puting National Park, an army statement said.
The park is home to animals including critically endangered Bornean orangutans.
"The accident occurred while the helicopter was scooping seawater for water-bombing," the statement said.
"The cause of the incident is still under investigation."
One crew member was killed while five others were rescued alive, said the army.
The statement did not provide any details about the condition of the two remaining crew members.
Aside from ground-based firefighters, Indonesia has also relied heavily on air operations to put out fires that have razed more than 1.9 million hectares in the nine months to September this year, according to deforestation monitor Nusantara Atlas.
The fires are driven in part by a strong El Nino weather phenomenon, which in Indonesia typically causes drought.
Experts say deforestation and peatland drainage is at the root of the destruction.
More than 400,000 people in Indonesia have been treated for acute respiratory ailments caused by the toxic haze, the health ministry said Wednesday.
