Inp.polri.go.id - Banjarbaru.  A BK117 D3 helicopter owned by Estindo Air, reported missing since Monday, was found burned and destroyed in a forest near Mandin Damar Waterfall, Mentewe District, Tanah Bumbu, South Kalimantan, on Wednesday (3/9/2025).

“Search and Rescue teams located the wreckage at 2.45 pm local time, with one victim confirmed dead and seven others still unaccounted for,” said the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) Director of Operations Rear Admiral Yudhi Bramantyo in a press briefing in Banjarbaru on Wednesday evening.

Hundreds of SAR personnel were deployed to the site, battling heavy rain as they attempted to evacuate the wreckage. Visuals from the scene showed the helicopter reduced to fragments, leaving only the green and blue tail section intact, still emitting smoke.

The helicopter, carrying eight people including pilot Capt. Haryanto, engineer Hendra, and six passengers, lost contact on Monday morning while flying over Mentewe. 

Authorities have dispatched additional ground units to support the evacuation and search operations.

(mg/inp/pr/rs)