One dead in police helicopter crash

JAKARTA (JP): One person was found dead and another in a critical condition when search teams located the wreckage of the police helicopter which went down along the Jambi and South Sumatra border Wednesday afternoon.

Mechanic Sgt. Jainul was found alive, but seriously injured, while the body of pilot Capt. Sriono was discovered late yesterday floating in a nearby river.

Sriono's body was taken to Palembang later in the day.

Two others are still missing, copilot Lt. Eko and an unnamed passenger.

South Sumatra police chief Brig. Gen. Deddi Ganrijadi said in Palembang yesterday that the helicopter was found in pieces near Jerungau Kecil river in Musi Banyuasin regency.

Deddi was quoted by Antara as saying that the helicopter was believed to have exploded prior to hitting the ground.

He said when the accident occurred Wednesday, unfavorable weather covered Palembang and nearby areas with visibility at 400 meters. He added the area was also shrouded by haze at the time.

The police helicopter, No. P-4016, took off at 9 a.m. Wednesday from Batam Island, Riau province for Palembang, where it was expected to arrive at 12:30 p.m.

But it lost contact with the Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II Airport in Palembang at 11 a.m., Antara reported.

Head of the search operations, Lt. Col. A. Helmi, quoted witnesses as saying they saw the helicopter hovering low over Air Hitam area, near the Berbak National Park in the neighboring province of Jambi, about 12 noon.

Search and rescue teams are trying to locate the other two missing people.

Shore patrols have also been assigned to comb the Bangka straits in case the bodies had been washed out to sea. (09/swe)