Thirteen people died when an Indonesian army helicopter carrying construction workers to build a military outpost crashed in the jungles of Borneo and burst into flames Saturday. The helicopter was carrying 19 crew and construction workers, as well as building materials, en route to the outpost in Malinau district, North Kalimantan province, near the Malaysian border.
But as the aircraft came in to land, its back rotor blades suddenly started spinning out of control and the helicopter smashed into a cliff, said local military commander Dicky Wainal Usman. The Russian-made, Mi-17 aircraft was completely burnt out following the accident in the remote area, said military spokesman Iskandar Sitompul in Jakarta.
It was just the latest deadly aircraft accident in the sprawling Indonesian archipelago, which relies heavily on air transport to link its many islands but has one of Asia's poorest aviation safety records. "Thirteen people died in the crash while the rest suffered burn injuries," Sitompul told AFP. Wainal confirmed that six people survived, four of whom had serious burns and two had more minor burns.
An army spokesman, Rukman Ahmad, said: "An Mi-17 helicopter was involved in an accident near outpost Bulan. It was carrying construction workers to build the outpost." Eight of those who died were civilian construction workers, while five others were crew members, who were military personnel, said Sitompul.
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