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Australia to join Indonesia's wildfire waterbombing operations

Australia's New South Wales Rural Fire Service has dispatched a C-130 Hercules and a Cessna Citation aircraft to supportIndonesia in firefighting operations from November 6 to 12, Indonesia's disaster mitigation agency said in a statement

Agencies
Jakarta
Fri, November 6, 2026

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Motorcyclists ride in the morning in Palangka Raya, Central Kalimantan on October 14, 2026. Thick haze has turned the skies in the city into apocalyptic shades of yellow and orange on Thursday, reducing visibility to a few dozen meters as wildfires cause a regional air pollution crisis Motorcyclists ride in the morning in Palangka Raya, Central Kalimantan on October 14, 2026. Thick haze has turned the skies in the city into apocalyptic shades of yellow and orange on Thursday, reducing visibility to a few dozen meters as wildfires cause a regional air pollution crisis (AFP/Reina)

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ustralia will join Indonesia's waterbombing operations to help put out fires that have been raging for months, a government agency said on Thursday, a day after a helicopter crashed during a firefighting mission, killing three people.

Australia's New South Wales Rural Fire Service has dispatched a C-130 Hercules and a Cessna Citation aircraft to supportIndonesia in firefighting operations from November 6 to 12, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency said in a statement

Australia's ambassador to Indonesia, Roderick Bruce Brazier, was quoted by Reuters the support includes a Large Air Tanker aircraft capable of dropping up to 15,000 litres of water per sortie, with with an estimated capacity of up to six sorties per day

Indonesia has been battling its most intense wildfires in 11 years, with large swathes of land scorched, mainly on the islands of Sumatra, Kalimantan and Papua

An Indonesian waterbombing helicopter crashed on Wednesday in Central Kalimantan, killing three crew and injuring several others, an environment ministry department said on Thursday

The helicopter was carrying eight crew and crashed while loading water, according to the transport ministry.

The helicopter took off on Wednesday morning from Seruyan district in Borneo's 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 orangutans.

"Until now, two crew members were found dead... five other crew members were rescued," the statement said. "The Indonesian Army continues its efforts to search for and evacuate one crew member who has yet to be found."

The incident occurred while the aircraft was scooping seawater for water-bombing, the statement said, adding that the cause of the accident was still under investigation.

Fire and haze has caused more than 400,000 cases of acute respiratory infections in seven Indonesian provinces as of November 2, Health Ministry data showed

Indonesia is making "massive efforts" to control the fires though waterbombing and cloud seeding operations while engaging foreign assistance, its disaster agency chief Kristomei Sianturi said

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