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)