Helicopter crash victims evacuated

Helicopter crash victims evacuated

Syofiardi Bachyul Jb, The Jakarta Post, Padang

Police braved rugged terrain on Saturday to evacuate the dead
bodies of six people who had been in a helicopter when it crashed
in a forest near the West Sumatra provincial capital of Padang on
Thursday.

The officers located the bodies of Sr. Comr. Harrison
Harmaini, the director of the West Sumatra Police's crime
division; Sr. Comr. Bambang Irawan, the director of the
intelligence division; Adj. Sr. Jornalis Johor, the chief of the
criminal identification unit; Second Brig. Welly Permana; pilot
Comr. Danny and a journalist with the Singgalang daily, Herman
Tasrial.

Two platoons of the West Sumatra Police's Mobile Brigade
(Brimob) were deployed for the evacuation, replacing a
search-and-rescue team that had been working in the Ladang Padi
area since Thursday.

"The Brimob officers also came to provide equipment for the
rescue team," Deputy West Sumatra Police chief Sr. Comr. Ade
Raharja said.

The co-pilot, Second Insp. Asep, was earlier found alive. He
remains in the Dr. M. Djamil Hospital in Padang.

The M-2 police helicopter crashed in Dr. Mohammad Hatta Forest
Garden after the officers on board inspected a forest fire in
South Solak regency. They had been on their way to Padang but
about 10 minutes from Tabing Airport there, the helicopter lost
contact with the flight control tower.

Ade said the police team had encountered difficulties in
evacuating the bodies as they had to walk through mountainous
forests.

The evacuation process was expected to be completed later on
Saturday, when the bodies would be taken to the hospital.

The rescue team found the bodies on Friday afternoon at a
location some 125 meters from Sarasah Falls in Rimbo Muara,
inside the protected forest, which is named after one of the
country's founding fathers.

Novi, 24, the local man who was the first to find debris from
the helicopter, said the wreckage of the chopper was found on the
side of a mountain. Its propeller was destroyed while the back
and front parts of the helicopter were badly damaged from hitting
the mountain. He said there was no sign of fire.

"There were four coconut trees that had been cut off, maybe by
the propeller, around the scene," Novi said.

One of the bodies was located inside the helicopter, another
one under the aircraft while the rest were scattered as far as
two to three meters away from the crash site, he said. Novi said
he could not identify the bodies from looking at them.

Doctors have prohibited Asep, whose knees were severely
injured in the accident, from talking to visitors as of Saturday.

Second Brig. Yusuf Oktaf, the mechanic of the chopper, said
that Asep phoned him a few seconds before the helicopter went
down.

"Asep phoned me at about 3.40 p.m.. (He) said that the
condition of the helicopter was unstable and he planned to break
through its door and jump into a river," he said after visiting
Asep.

Separately, the wife of Erman, Magdalena, said she had heard
the news of the crash from relatives.

"Bang Erman usually phoned me if he went to cover (events) or
attend editorial meetings. This time around, he did not phone
me," the 36-year-old said.

The last air accident involving a police aircraft was in
February, when a Casa 212 airplane crashed into an estuary just
in front of Papua's Sarmi Airport, killing 15 people on board.
Three people survived.

Several military aircraft have crashed in recent years,
raising concerns about the aging fleet.