Indonesian Military Helicopter Mi-17 Goes Missing In Country's East - Reports

Indonesian Military Helicopter Mi-17 Goes Missing in Country's East - Reports

An Indonesian military helicopter Mi-17 with 12 people on board lost on Friday contact with air traffic controllers while flying over the country's eastern Papua province, local media reported, citing a spokesman for the local military command

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th June, 2019) An Indonesian military helicopter Mi-17 with 12 people on board lost on Friday contact with air traffic controllers while flying over the country's eastern Papua province, local media reported, citing a spokesman for the local military command.

The Xinhua news agency reported that the contact with the helicopter was lost as 11:45 a.m. local time (02:45 a.m. GMT), when it was at an altitude of 7,800 feet.

The spokesman said that the searches for the missing helicopter were underway with the participation of local search and rescue services.

The helicopter was carrying five military officers and seven crew members and was on its way from the city of Oksibil to Jayapura when the contact was lost. According to the news agency, there was good visibility in the region at the time of the incident. The Indonesian Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Agency however said that there might have been extreme weather conditions in certain areas between Oksibil and Jayapura.