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.