Indonesia helicopter crash kills 8

JAKARTA

Two crew members and six passengers were killed when a private helicopter crashed in dense forest on Indonesia's Borneo Island, the transport ministry said on April 17.

The Airbus helicopter, owned by local firm Matthew Air Nusantara, lost contact with air traffic control about five minutes after takeoff in the West Kalimantan province on April 16 morning.

All eight on board were men and one was a Malaysian national, civil aviation director general Lukman F. Laisa said in a statement.

"The joint search and rescue team had successfully located the crash site of the aircraft and, based on information from the field, all passengers and crew members have been confirmed dead," he said.

Rescuers found the crash victims April 16 evening in a dense forest area with steep slopes, search and rescue agency head I Made Junetra told AFP on April 17.

The bodies were being flown to the provincial capital of Pontianak, Made added.

Indonesia, a vast archipelago in Southeast Asia, relies heavily on air transport to connect its thousands of islands.

The country has a poor aviation safety record, with several fatal accidents in recent years.

A turboprop plane chartered by the fisheries ministry crashed into a mountain on the island of Sulawesi in January, killing all 10 people on board.