Two survivors named after firefighting helicopter crashes into Borneo river

Rescuers pulled Australian Michael Betteridge and New Zealander Hugh Page from the Barito River in South Kalimantan on Borneo after their helicopter nosedived into the water, local authorities said. Video posted online shows people hauling both men from the river moments after the crash. They were treated at a military hospital.

The aircraft's third crew member did not make it. Indonesian navigator Yayan Supyansuri died in the crash and was found by rescue teams the same day. The helicopter had been scooping water from the Barito for firefighting operations when it went down, flying under contract to Indonesian authorities battling the country's worst forest and land fire season in over a decade.

Indonesia's National Disaster Management Agency promised a full probe. Spokesperson Berton SP Panjaitan said the agency is committed to facilitating an official investigation into the exact cause and will run a comprehensive safety evaluation of aerial operations — covering fleet readiness, water-bombing procedures, aircrew fitness and qualifications, weather and site-specific conditions.

The two governments are on the case. Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it is providing consular assistance to an Australian rescued safely from the crash, with officials in close contact with local authorities. New Zealand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said its embassy in Jakarta is making further enquiries.

It is the second deadly water-bombing crash in weeks. Three Indonesian crew died on November 4 when a separate helicopter carrying eight crew went down in Central Kalimantan, also while loading water.

The fires are burning across Kalimantan, Sumatra and Papua, often in peatland where embers smoulder deep underground and defy easy extinguishing. Indonesia's environment minister said more than 100,000 personnel have fought the blazes this year, and the health ministry counts more than 400,000 acute respiratory infections from the toxic haze. Authorities have accused more than 240 people and 20 companies of lighting fires deliberately or negligently.