Two weeks to identify bodies of helicopter crash victims

It will take the Indonesian authorities about two weeks to identify the bodies of 13 passengers of an Indonesian Army (TNI-AD) helicopter which crashed in Malinau, North Kalimantan near the Indonesian-Malaysian border on Saturday.

The process to identify the victims involved forensic examination and matching their DNA with that of their next-of-kin, said TNI-AD Flight Centre Commandant, Brig-Jen M. Afifuddin on Monday.

Meanwhile, TNI-AD Chief of Staff General Budiman said the helicopter which was ferrying 19 passengers crashed into a 10-metre deep ravine amidst strong wind.

The dead comprised eight civilians and five military personnel.

The MI-17 helicopter was reported to be ferrying construction workers for a military post construction in the Indonesian-Malaysian border at Malinau-Sarawak when the crash occurred about 11am, about two hours after take-off from the Juwata airport in Tarakan on Saturday.