appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

liveArticle

appConfig

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sectionsV2

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

json

Agence France-Presse

Two crew members and six passengers were killed when a private helicopter crashed in dense forest on Indonesia’s Borneo island, the transport ministry said on Friday.
The Airbus H130 helicopter, owned by local firm Matthew Air Nusantara, lost contact with air traffic control about five minutes after take-off from an oil plantation in the West Kalimantan province on Thursday morning. It was on its way to another plantation in Kubu Raya district.
All eight on board were men and one was a Malaysian national, civil aviation director general Lukman F. Laisa said in a statement.
“The joint search and rescue team had successfully located the crash site of the aircraft and, based on information from the field, all passengers and crew members have been confirmed dead,” he said.

Rescuers found the crash victims on Thursday evening in a dense forest area with steep slopes about 3km (two miles) west of where contact was lost, search and rescue agency head I Made Junetra said on Friday.
The bodies were being flown to the provincial capital of Pontianak, Made said.
Indonesia, a vast archipelago in Southeast Asia, relies heavily on air transport to connect its thousands of islands.
The country has a poor aviation safety record, with several fatal accidents in recent years.
A turboprop plane chartered by the fisheries ministry crashed into a mountain on the island of Sulawesi in January, killing all 10 people on board.
In September last year, a helicopter carrying six passengers and two crew members crashed in South Kalimantan province, killing all on board.
Four people were killed less than two weeks later when another helicopter crashed in the remote Papua district of Ilaga.
Additional reporting by Reuters, Associated Press


Indonesia’s Surabaya bans absentee fathers from public services for dodging child support

Malaysian man among 8 dead in Indonesian helicopter crash

Australia acts to protect winter crops with emergency Indonesian fertiliser deal

Europe running low on jet fuel, stoking fears of flight cancellations

Indonesia

Rescuers inspect the wreckage of a helicopter that crashed in Sekadau, West Kalimantan, on Thursday. Photo: Basarnas/AP

The crash site is seen from a rescue helicopter on Thursday. Photo: Basarnas/AP

In Indonesia, leaked plan for US military overflights triggers sovereignty row

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth shakes hands with Indonesia’s Director General of Defence Strategy Major General Agus Widodo at the Pentagon on Monday. Photo: AFP

A US B-52 bomber (top) and an Indonesian F-16 fighter jet conduct a joint exercise over Sulawesi, Indonesia, in 2021. Photo: Indonesian Air Force/AFP

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth shakes hands with Indonesia’s Director General of Defence Strategy Major General Agus Widodo at the Pentagon on Monday as Indonesian Defence Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin (right) looks on. Photo: AFP

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto (left) at US President Donald Trump’s inaugural “Board of Peace” meeting in Washington on February 19. Photo: Reuters

A US Army AH-64 Apache helicopter flies past during the joint multinational exercise Garuda Shield held in Lampung, Indonesia, in September 2025. Photo: AFP

Prabowo’s overseas trips draw scrutiny as Indonesians told to work from home to save fuel

 Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto inspects the French Republican Guard upon arrival at the Elysee Palace in Paris on Tuesday. Photo: EPA

Russian President Vladimir Putin bids farewell to Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto following their meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow on Monday. Photo: EPA

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto (left) walks the red carpet with South Korean Minister of Climate and Environment Kim Sung-hwan after touching down at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam on March 31. Photo: Yonhap/EPA

People queue for petrol at a station in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, on Tuesday. Photo: EPA

Chinese drone exposes Indonesia’s ‘insufficient’ undersea capabilities

A torpedo-like object, discovered by a fisherman near the Lombok Strait, is towed ashore onto a beach on Gili Trawangan, West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia, on April 6. Photo: AFP

An Indonesia Navy ship moored at Benoa port in February 2025. Analysts have urged the country to enhance its anti-submarine warfare capabilities. Photo: AFP

The unmanned underwater vehicle, discovered by a fisherman in the Lombok Strait, being towed ashore onto a beach on Gili Trawangan, West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia, on April 6. Photo: AFP

President Prabowo Subianto has said Indonesia will be in a favourable position “if World War III breaks out”. Photo: AFP

Why Indonesia’s Prabowo is in Russia – and what he needs from Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) shakes hands with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto at the Kremlin in Moscow on Monday. Photo: AP

Motorcyclists queue to fill their tanks with fuel at a petrol station in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, on Tuesday. Photo: EPA

A satellite image in near-infrared shows smoke rising from damaged oil storage tanks in Primorsk, Russia, after a Ukrainian attack on March 29. Photo: Vantor/Reuters

Indonesia’s Defence Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin (centre, left) and US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth (centre, right) salute an honour cordon at the Pentagon on Monday. Photo: Reuters

Bali rocked by spate of murder cases – is Indonesian island more dangerous now?

Igor Komarov, a 28-year-old Ukrainian, was kidnapped and later found dead in a suspected murder in Bali in February. Photo: YouTube

Tourists walk in a shopping area in Seminyak, Bali. The number of visitors to the Indonesian island continued to rise last year. Photo: EPA

Australian suspect Paea I Middlemore Tupou, one of three men accused of murder over the shooting of Australian citizens, is escorted back to prison after being questioned by prosecutors in Bali in October. Photo: AFP

News

Asia

Southeast Asia

The Airbus H130 was flying between palm oil plantations when it lost contact with air traffic control about five minutes after take-off


The Airbus H130 was flying between palm oil plantations when it lost contact with air traffic control about five minutes after take-off.


Plane crashes and aviation accidents

Aviation

Malaysian man among 8 dead in Indonesian helicopter crash

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The Airbus H130 was flying between palm oil plantations when it lost contact with air traffic control about five minutes after take-off

The Airbus H130 was flying between palm oil plantations when it lost contact with air traffic control about five minutes after take-off