Search for chopper's missing pilot continues<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Search and rescue workers continued scouring the
\nTomini Bay in Central Sulawesi yesterday for the body of the
\npilot of PT Gatari's helicopter which crashed into the sea on
\nSaturday.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the bodies of three crew members were flown to
\nJakarta to be handed over to their relatives.<\/p>\n
The Bell 212 helicopter with five crew members on board
\ncrashed into the sea in Donggala on its way from the East
\nKalimantan town of Balikpapan to Gorontalo in Central Sulawesi.<\/p>\n
The only survivor of the accident, co-pilot John Marjono, was
\npresent for a ceremony at Palu's Mutiara airport in which
\ngovernor Abdul Azis Lamadjido formally handed over the remains of
\nthe victims to Gatari's operational director Iwan Paul.<\/p>\n
The bodies of load master Andi Basri, 35, mechanic Soemarno,
\n44, and Philippine mechanic Roger Victoria, 35, were pulled from
\nthe wrecked helicopter, which was lying upside down on a coral
\nreef on Saturday.<\/p>\n
The wreck with pilot Abdul Rahman Saleh's body still tied up
\nin the cockpit, however, disappeared from view when SAR workers
\nreturned only hours later. High waves were believed to have
\nhurled it to the bottom of the sea.<\/p>\n
Antara reported yesterday that the navy has called in its
\ndivers from Manado, North Sulawesi, to locate the wreckage.<\/p>\n
Marjono, who survived by holding onto a flotation device, said
\nhe saw the pilot's body tied to his seat but he could not help
\nbecause he was weak from swallowing too much fuel-polluted sea
\nwater.<\/p>\n
\"I managed to pull Andi Basri out alive but he was too weak to
\ncling to me and drowned before the passing fishermen came to the
\nrescue,\" he recounted.<\/p>\n
He said the crash occurred following a failure in the
\ntransmission system, which moves the rotors, and not because of
\nengine trouble as was earlier suggested.<\/p>\n
A doctor from PT Gatari said the cause of the fatalities was
\nthe impact of the chopper's fall coupled with inhaling the fuel-
\ncontaminated sea water.<\/p>\n
\"Inhaling too much of the contaminated water made them faint.
\nIf they had not been knocked unconscious, they might have
\nsurvived like John Marjono,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The helicopter dropped to the sea from a height of 3,000 feet,
\nturning upside down after its float automatically activated after
\ntouching water. (pan)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/search-for-choppers-missing-pilot-continues-1447893297",
"image": ""
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