Army helicopter crash victim's body recovered in Kalimantan

Jakarta (ANTARA) - A joint search and rescue team has recovered the body of Indonesian Army First Sergeant Heri Prasetyo, who died when a military helicopter crashed during a forest fire response mission in Central Kalimantan.

Berton Panjaitan, acting head of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency's (BNPB) Disaster Data, Information and Communication Center, said the recovery was completed at around 9:15 a.m. local time on Friday.

"The body was immediately transported by speedboat from the discovery site to Sigintung Port before being sent to his hometown of Kediri," Panjaitan said.

Prasetyo was among eight crew members aboard an Indonesian Army Aviation Mi-17V-5 helicopter, registration HA-5235, which crashed during a firefighting mission in Seruyan on Wednesday, November 4.

Three personnel have now died in the accident. Two bodies had previously been recovered and given military funerals, while the remaining crew members are receiving medical treatment.

The helicopter had departed from Kuala Pembuang to help extinguish forest and land fires in Tanjung Puting National Park in Central Kalimantan.

The aircraft encountered problems while collecting water off Sungai Perlu village for a water-bombing operation and crashed into the water.

The Indonesian Army deployed personnel shortly after the accident to evacuate the helicopter crew by air.

BNPB said Prasetyo's body was scheduled to be transported to his hometown of Kediri on Saturday, November 7, 2026.

The departure was postponed because of preparations for the transfer and adverse weather conditions in Seruyan, which prevented flights from operating on Friday.

A Casa 212 aircraft, registration A-9135, was scheduled to transport the body from Seruyan to Kediri Airport.

Indonesian Army Aviation Center Commander Major General M. Masrukin was scheduled to lead the wake on Saturday.

A military funeral was scheduled to take place at Trenggalek Heroes' Cemetery at 2 p.m. local time.

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Translator: M. Riezko Bima, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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