Disasters · Borneo helicopter crashBorneo helicopter crash: Five rescued, death toll unresolvedWritten November 5, 2026 at 4:07 PM UTCTranscript0:07An army firefighting helicopter carrying eight people crashed into waters off0:11Borneo.0:12Five people have been rescued, and the army initially confirmed one crew member0:17dead.0:18The final fate of everyone aboard is still unresolved.0:22The crash happened in waters near Sungai Perlu, in central Kalimantan on Indonesia's0:28side of Borneo.0:29The helicopter's firefighting destination was Tanjung Puting National Park.0:34The helicopter came down on November4,2026 .0:38It had left Suruyan that morning to fight fires in the park.0:43The operation involved dropping water onto forest and peatland fires.0:47Fire had brought the crew to Tenjung Puting.0:51Their mission was to help protect the national park, but the crash turned that0:55firefighting operation into a rescue and recovery effort.0:59Indonesia has been battling wildfires for months.1:02Fires have burned across Sumatra, Borneo, and Papua.1:06And choking haze has drifted into Malaysia, East Timor, and Singapore.1:11This helicopter was part of the effort to bring those blazes under control.1:15The Army Aviation Center operated the Mi-17 V-5 helicopter.1:20It carried eight people on the firefighting mission, combining an aviation operation1:25with the work of gathering water and dropping it onto burning land.1:28The helicopter was collecting seawater when it came down.1:32That places the accident during the water-gathering stage of its mission.1:37Nobody has explained why it crashed.1:40The army's first casualty count left two people missing, alongside the one confirmed1:46death.1:47Five others survived, die early November fifth.1:50The figures had changed, but they still didn't provide a consistent accounting of1:55everyone aboard.1:56Two military personnel were reported dead by early Thursday, with five rescued and2:01one still missing.2:02The Transportation Ministry reportedly put the death toll at three.2:06Those figures haven't been reconciled, and a missing person can't be counted as2:11dead.2:11Six divers from Basarna's, Indonesia's search and rescue agency, were deployed to2:16help the operation.2:18Five people have been rescued, but their medical conditions haven't been made clear.2:23At least one death is confirmed, and the higher tolls remain unresolved.2:28A final casualty list and a clear search update are still needed.2:32There's been no final announcement accounting for everyone aboard, or saying the2:37search has ended.Read the articleStory timelineHeyDex
