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The Southeast Asian archipelago has for months been struggling to control wildfires that have burned through large swathes of Sumatra, Borneo and Papua islands, causing choking haze that drifted to neighbouring Malaysia, East Timor and Singapore.
The helicopter took off on Wednesday morning from Seruyan district in Borneo’s Central Kalimantan province to fight fires in the Tanjung Puting National Park, an army statement said. The park is home to animals including critically endangered Bornean orangutans.
“The accident occurred while the helicopter was scooping seawater for water-bombing,” the statement said.“The cause of the incident is still under investigation.
The statement did not provide any details about the condition of the two remaining crew members.
Aside from ground-based firefighters, Indonesia has also relied heavily on air operations to put out fires that have razed more than 1.9 million hectares in the nine months to September this year, according to deforestation monitor Nusantara Atlas.
The fires are driven in part by a strong El Nino weather phenomenon, which in Indonesia typically causes drought.Experts say deforestation and peatland drainage is at the root of the destruction.
Pollution from smoke emitted by this year’s blazes caused an estimated 3,560 deaths in Indonesia in September alone, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, a Helsinki-based think tank.
More than 400,000 people in Indonesia have been treated for acute respiratory ailments caused by the toxic haze, the health ministry said Wednesday.