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Indonesian official, passengers survive Myanmar chopper crash: Official
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Military personnel inspect the wreckage of a Myanmar military aircraft that crashed in an area close to the airport in Naypyitaw on Feb. 10, 2016. Aircraft accidents involving either civilian or military personnel are not uncommon in the Southeast Asian country. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)
A
n Indonesian official who was traveling with other foreign military attachés aboard a Myanmar military helicopter escaped unscathed when it crashed in the country's east on Friday, a Foreign Ministry official confirmed on Saturday.
The helicopter was bound for the commercial capital of Yangon when it crashed shortly after taking off from Lwe Khan village in northern Shan state, Reuters reported. A Myanmar military spokesman was quoted as saying that two pilots had been injured. No further details were given.
Indonesia's defense attaché to Myanmar, Col. (ret.) Fajar Rusdianto, who was among the passengers on board the military helicopter, escaped unhurt, said Judha Nugraha, the ministry's director for overseas citizen protection.
"Thank God he is safe. All the passengers and the pilots also survived, although some sustained minor injuries," Judha said on Saturday.
They had attended a press briefing in an area close to the border with China, where the Myanmar military (Tatmadaw) recently raided a narcotics factory, the official added.
Authorities recently seized US$37 million worth of narcotics, chemicals and equipment there, Reuters reported.
Myanmar is the world's biggest producer of methamphetamine, and authorities are often keen to show large-scale seizures to the media.
Aircraft accidents involving either civilian or military planes are not uncommon in the Southeast Asian country and other parts of the region.
In 2015, Indonesian diplomat Burhan Muhammad succumbed to injuries from a helicopter crash in Pakistan that also took the lives of his wife, the ambassadors to Norway and the Philippines, as well as three Pakistani crewmen. (tjs)
