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Activists urge probe into mid-flight death of Sangihe Islands deputy who opposed local mine
The Sangihe Islands deputy regent was a staunch and vocal opponent of the gold mine concession located on Sangihe Island that was granted to PT Tambang Mas Sangihe in North Sulawesi's archipelagic regency.
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Sangihe Islands Deputy Regent Helmud Hontong, who died on June 9, 2021 after experiencing a medical emergency onboard a Lion Air flight, was a vocal opponent of a local concession granted to gold miner PT Tambang Mas Sangihe. (Handout/Helmud Hontong via Antara)
E
nvironmental activists are urging authorities to thoroughly investigate the death of Helmud Hontong, the deputy regent of North Sulawesi’s Sangihe Islands regency known as a staunch opponent of a local gold mine.
Helmand, 58, died on Wednesday onboard Lion Air flight JT740 heading from Denpasar, Bali, to Makassar, South Sulawesi, as he was returning home after attending a workshop in Bali.
The airplane took off from Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar at 3:08 p.m. Central Indonesian Time (WITA) on June 9 after a delay of around 45 minutes, and landed exactly an hour later at Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport in Makassar.
“At around 3:40 p.m., the passenger [identified as HH] required medical assistance,” Lion Air spokesperson Danang Mandala Prihantoro said in a statement on Thursday.
Cabin crew and a passenger who was a health worker gave first aid and oxygen support to Helmud during the flight. A medical team from the port health authority (KKP) at Sultan Hasanuddin airport immediately evacuated Helmud from the aircraft when it arrived at the gate at 4:17 p.m.
Read also: Watchdog coalition rejects impending mining regulation
Local media reported that Helmud was declared dead at 4:22 p.m. WITA, but that the airport medical team had been unable to determine the cause of death.
