Eight Died in West Kalimantan Helicopter Crash, Evacuation Ongoing

RRI.CO.ID, Sekadau – A helicopter crashed in Sekadau Regency, West Kalimantan Province, on Thursday, April 16, 2026, with all eight people on board confirmed dead. The Airbus H130 helicopter, bearing registration code PK-CFX and owned by PT Matthew Air Nusantara, had previously lost contact five minutes after taking off from Melawi Regency in the same province.

"The aircraft took off from the plantation area of PT Citra Mahkota in Menukung District, Melawi Regency, West Kalimantan, heading to Kubu Raya Regency, West Kalimantan at 08:34 WIB (Western Indonesia Time)," Deputy for Search and Rescue Operations and Preparedness at the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas), Major General TNI (Mar) Edy Prakoso, said on Thursday, 16 April 2026.

"According to AirNav, the aircraft lost contact at 08:39 WIB, which was five minutes after takeoff," he continued, as monitored from the agency's social media.

A joint team from the Rapid Action Forces Corps and Basarnas rescuers then left Supadio Air Force Base in Kubu Raya Regency, near the West Kalimantan capital Pontianak, looking for the helicopter’s location by air. They found the helicopter tail about 3 km from the point where contact was lost.

"Monitoring results found debris believed to be the tail of the Airbus H130 helicopter PK-CFX at a distance of approximately 3 km west of the initial point of lost contact. This information was immediately forwarded to ground teams to make it easier to reach the crash site," Edy said.

A joint team from Basarnas, the military, the police, and locals found that two crew members and six passengers had died. The team began evacuating the victims on Thursday night, but it was halted due to the helicopter's extreme location and limited lighting.

"We are already at the scene. However, it's very dark, and the terrain is steep, making it impossible to carry out an evacuation tonight," Head of Operations at Sekadau Resort Police, Sugianto, said on Thursday evening.

Commander of the 1204/Sanggau Military District Command of the Indonesian Army, Lieutenant Colonel Nurrachman Gindha Dradhizya, stated that four bodies had been successfully recovered from the scene, while three others remained in the helicopter. Rescue operations resume on Friday morning, 17 April 2026.

"We'll continue tomorrow morning. This includes efforts to cut through the helicopter wreckage to remove the bodies still inside," Nurrachman said on the same day.