Chopper pilot's body flown home

SURABAYA: More than one week after a helicopter crashed in Nabire, only one of five people on board has been found, while the fate of the other four remain unclear.

The only body found was that of Capt. Novi Hendri, the pilot of the ill-fated helicopter that crashed in Nabire on Dec. 22. Local residents found his body on Thursday near the Siriwo River.

His body was flown to Surabaya, East Java, on Saturday, before being sent to his family in Pekanbaru, Riau, for burial on Sunday.

The other four passengers of the helicopter are still missing. They are copilot Second Lt. Putu, mechanic First Sgt. Widiyono and two civilians.

It is believed that the chopper, piloted by Novi, hit a cliff during bad weather and crashed to the ground.

The accident occurred just two days before President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono visited Nabire, which had just been devastated by an earthquake. -- Antara