In this photo made released by Banjarmasin Search and Rescue Agency (BASARNAS Banjarmasin) on Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025, rescuers prepare for a ground search operation for a helicopter carrying a number of people that has lost contact in a forest in Indonesia's tropical island of Borneo, near Banjarmasin, Indonesia. (BASARNAS Banjarmasin via AP)

Rescuers search for helicopter that went missing in Indonesia’s Borneo

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Search and rescue teams in Indonesia searched on Tuesday for a helicopter that went missing over the forests of Borneo with eight people on board the previous day.

The Airbus BK117 D-3, owned by Eastindo Air, lost contact with air traffic control eight minutes after departing from the airport in Kotabaru district in Indonesia’s South Kalimantan province on Monday. The aircraft was on its way to Palangkaraya City in Central Kalimantan Province.

Three foreign nationals — an American, a Brazilian and an Indian — are among the eight people who were on board the helicopter.

A total of 140 personnel from a joint team, including police, military, local agencies and residents, were sent by land and air to comb a 27-square-kilometer (10 square mile) stretch of forest in Mantewe, Tanahbumbu district.

The operation is also supported by two helicopters, which will take turns sweeping the area, said I Putu Sudayana, head of the Banjarmasin Search and Rescue Agency.

“Hopefully, with everyone’s prayers, today’s operation will be successful and we will be able to find the location of the incident,” Sudayana said.

In this photo made released by Banjarmasin Search and Rescue Agency (BASARNAS Banjarmasin) on Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025, rescuers prepare for a search operation for a helicopter carrying a number of people that has lost contact in a forest in Indonesia’s tropical island of Borneo, in Banjarmasin, Indonesia. (BASARNAS Banjarmasin via AP)

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