Plane carrying ministers lands safely in thick haze<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
An Air Force plane carrying Coordinating Minister for People's
\nWelfare Jusuf Kalla and several other ministers landed safely on
\nSaturday in the Central Kalimantan capital of Palangkaraya
\ndespite the thick haze caused by forest fires.<\/p>\n
The Hercules was the first plane to land at the Tjilik Riwut
\nAirport since it was closed on Aug. 26 due to the thick smoke
\nblanketing the city and neighboring areas.<\/p>\n
\"For almost 15 minutes we flew around over the airport while
\nasking for help from the tower to locate the runway, because
\nvisibility was only 300 meters,\" the aircraft's 39-year-old
\npilot, Lt. Col. Jeffri, was quoted by Antara as saying.<\/p>\n
The Hercules A-1314 landed safely at about 3 p.m.<\/p>\n
Jeffri said that planes should only fly with a visibility of
\nat least 1,500 meters, but that with his 4,000 hours of flight
\ntime and help from the tower Saturday's high-risk landing was
\npossible.<\/p>\n
The pilot said almost all of the 40 passengers, including
\nKalla, Minister of Health Achmad Sujudi, State Minister for the
\nEnvironment Nabiel Makarim and Minister of Regional
\nInfrastructure and Resettlement Sunarno, looked \"pale\" as they
\nexited the plane.<\/p>\n
Also traveling with Kalla were foreign diplomats and the heads
\nof several United Nations agencies based in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Hamid Awaluddin, a member of Kalla's staff, said the pilot
\nshould be commended for the successful landing at the airport,
\nwhere since Aug. 26 all flights had been canceled because of the
\nchoking haze.<\/p>\n
A thick haze has blanketed Central Kalimantan and neighboring
\nprovinces for months, forcing the cancellation of flights to and
\nfrom local airports.<\/p>\n
The choking smoke has caused serious respiratory problems,
\nskin irritations and other illnesses among locals. Singapore and
\nMalaysia have also been affected by the haze, caused by forest
\nand ground fires in Kalimantan and Sumatra.<\/p>\n
Kalla, speaking after a meeting with Central Kalimantan
\nGovernor Aswawi Agani, asked all sides to join forces to
\nextinguish the forest fires to prevent them from spreading to
\nother parts of the province.<\/p>\n
The senior minister said the government was continuing efforts
\nto deal with the forest fires, but stressed that public support
\nwas badly needed.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/plane-carrying-ministers-lands-safely-in-thick-haze-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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