Air Fast chopper still missing in Kalimantan

Air Fast chopper still missing in Kalimantan

JAKARTA (JP): Search and rescue workers yesterday failed to
locate a helicopter with 18 people on board which has been
missing in the East Kalimantan jungle since Tuesday.

The Sikorsky S-5BT helicopter belonging to the private
operator, PT. Air Fast Indonesia, took off with the 18 people on
board from the rural settlement of Tabang on Tuesday morning.

The helicopter, piloted by Capt. Gufron, lost contact with the
control tower at the Sepinggan airport in Samarinda only five
minutes after leaving Tabang.

"We have searched for three days but there are no signs yet of
its whereabouts," an official at the National Search and Rescue
Agency (Basarnas) in Jakarta said yesterday.

"We will continue the search tomorrow and in the next few
days, up to Wednesday," said the official who requested
anonymity.

The helicopter was chartered by PT. Sumber Daya Alam, an
eaglewood collecting company operating in East Kalimantan.

It was on its way from Samarinda via Tabang to Kutai to fly
loggers to remote parts of the regency.

The search is employing four helicopters and involves 12
personnel from the search and rescue office in Samarinda.

This is the second time that PT. Air Fast has lost a
helicopter in the province. It lost the first one on May 5 this
year. The helicopter with two people on board has not been found
to this day. (rms)