TNI Commander Believes Missing MI-17 Chopper Passengers Survive
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4 July 2019 20:39 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - An Indonesian Military's (TNI) MI-17 helicopter that lost contact during flights from Oksibil, Pegunungan Bintang District, Papua, has yet to be found. The search is still afoot.
TNI commander Marshall Hadi Tjahjanto said that the search was hampered as the site was difficult to reach, and the team lack of communication devices. “There are hills and forests,” said Hadi in Boyolali, Thursday, July 4.
The team was still searching via land and air to find the missing chopper. “I always monitor the search development every night,” he added.
Hadi believed the crew and passengers abroad could be found alive. “There was a similar incident occurred to the same type of aircraft, and all passengers survived,” he said.
As reported earlier, the Army’s missing MI-17 helicopter lost contact with the Oksibil Airport, Papua, 5-7 minutes after taking off on Friday, June 28. The crew members comprised pilots Captain Aris and First Lt Bambang, co-pilot First Lt Ahwar, Chief Sergeant Suriyatna, Second Sergeant Dita, Private Dwi Purnomo, and Private Aharul.
AHMAD RAFIQ
Read: SAR Team, Locals Continue Land-based Search for MI-17 Chopper
