Bodies of Kopassus soldiers found
Nani Farida and Teuku Agam Muzakir, The Jakarta Post, Lhokseumawe/Banda Aceh
The bodies of eight of the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) soldiers who fell into the sea off the Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam town of Lhokseumawe to their deaths during an exercise were discovered on Monday as an investigation into alleged procedural violations preceding the accident began.
The bodies were found floating and tied to one other at around 2 p.m. within a radius of 40 meters from the place where they fell after the harness suspending them from a helicopter was cut on Saturday. Their firearms and helmets were also discovered along with them.
Spokesman for the military operation in Aceh Lt. Col. Ahmad Yani Basuki told reporters in Lhokseumawe the recovery team had faced difficulties in locating the bodies of the elite soldiers due to thick mud and strong undercurrents.
The eight soldiers were Sgt. Slamet Budiono, Second Sgt. Maksum, Second Pvt. Nainggolan, Chief Pvt. Aprianto, Chief Pvt, Khaerul Anan, Chief Pvt. Sigit, Chief Pvt. Sugiono, and Chief Pvt. Dodi Suhendro.
Four warships, dozens of marines and local fishermen were involved in the search.
Sources said that the discovery of the bodies of the Kopassus soldiers followed a report from local fishermen, who said their net had caught something heavy. Marines then dove into the sea and found the harness tied to the soldiers.
Aceh Military Operation Commander Maj. Gen. Bambang Darmono witnessed the evacuation.
The bodies of the soldiers were brought to the Army hospital in Lhokseumawe for an autopsy.
The Kopassus' antiterror team members were rehearsing for the celebration of the 58th anniversary of the Indonesian Military (TNI) when the helicopter they were suspended by was caught in strong winds and became unstable.
They were hanging from the helicopter tied to each other as part of a STABO maneuver.
Spokesman for the Aceh martial law administrator Col. Ditya Soedarsono said in the Aceh capital of Banda Aceh the harness was cut to prevent the further loss of life.
"If the harness was not cut, the helicopter would have crashed and all the crew would have also died," he said.
Earlier in the day, Kopassus deputy commander Brig. Gen. Syaiful Rizal arrived at Lhokseumawe to get first-hand information regarding the incident.
He went to the military base in downtown Lhokseumawe, where he was briefed by the head of the recovery team Col. Alfan.
Syaiful, however, refused to comment on the accident.
A team of investigators, consisting of three colonels and a lieutenant colonel from various forces, were sent to Lhokseumawe by the martial law administration.
"The team will investigate the cause of the accident and will report the results to the martial law administration," Ditya said.
Bambang Darmono said since the accident took place in Aceh, he could be held accountable.
The bodies of the Kopassus soldiers will arrive at Halim Perdanakusuma Airport on Tuesday to be handed over to their families for burial.