South Kalimantan suspends aerial firefighting after helicopter crash

Banjarbaru, S Kalimantan (ANTARA) - South Kalimantan has temporarily suspended aerial firefighting operations following a water-bombing helicopter crash in the Barito River on Sunday (November 8), which killed one crew member, Governor Muhidin said.

"We have suspended water-bombing operations because conditions are now relatively under control," Muhidin said in Banjarbaru on Monday.

He said firefighting efforts would now rely solely on ground task forces, assisted by community volunteers.

Field command posts and integrated emergency posts have also been closed, with personnel returning to standby duties at their respective posts or headquarters.

The decision reflects improving fire conditions following several rounds of rainfall across the province.

The rainfall was partly attributed to weather modification operations conducted by a joint team involving the Air Force, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) and Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), which have repeatedly conducted cloud-seeding operations.

The team has also dispersed 2.5 to 3 metric tons of dry ice daily to weaken atmospheric inversion layers and cool rising moisture, while carrying salt (sodium chloride) for cloud seeding.

"We also hope natural rainfall will continue, helping prevent further forest and land fires," the governor added.

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Translator: Firman, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Primayanti
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