Pilot Heli TNI AD Ditemukan Selamat jadi Berita Utama Media Internasional
Soldier Found Alive Two Weeks after Chopper Crash in Indonesia
Editor : Ismail Gani
Translator : Novita Cahyadi
SEORANG tentara yang berada di helikopter militer yang jatuh di hutan terpencil Indonesia lebih dari dua minggu yang lalu ditemukan dalam keadaan hidup, kata seorang juru bicara militer pada Jumat.
Lettu Cpn Yohanes Syahputra ditemukan Kamis malam oleh warga desa di Kalimantan dalam kondisi kelelahan, kata Kadispen TNI AD Brigjen TNI M Sabrar Fadhilah kepada AFP.
"Syukur kepada Allah Maha Kuasa, kami berhasil menemukan salah satu penumpang helikopter yang jatuh," kata Fadhilah melalui pesan singkat.
"Korban ditemukan dengan luka di tangannya, pinggang dan kaki, dalam keadaan lemah karena ia tidak makan berhari-hari."
Syahputra adalah pilot helikopterl Bell 412 dengan empat personil militer lainnya ketika kehilangan kontak pada 24 November di kawasan terpencil di hutan Kalimantan, kata pihak militer.
Reruntuhan helikopter ditemukan tiga hari kemudian, setelah jatuh saat melakukan pengiriman logistik ke pos militer dekat perbatasan Malaysia.
Tiga awak ditemukan tewas dan seorang selamat. Lokasi jatuhnya helikopter tergolong dicapai oleh tim penyelamat dari TNI AD dan harus ditarik dengan tali, kata pihak militer.
Namun Syahputra tidak ditemukan dan dikhawatirkan tewas, mengingat kondisi di lokasi jatuh pesawat tergolong hutan liar.
Helikopter naas tersebut jatuh di tengah hutan, pegunungan Kalimantan, jauh dari kota terdekat.
Seorang petani menemukan prajurit beristirahat di sebuah gubuk di pinggiran perkebunan, di mana ia makan gula untuk bertahan hidup, seperti dilaporkan media lokal.
Ia dibawa ke rumah warga desa di Long Sulit dan menawarkan makanan dan air, kata laporan itu.
Brigjen TNI M Sabrar Fadhilah mengatakan korban selamat akan dievakuasi untuk pemeriksaan medis di sebuah rumah sakit di Tarakan, Kalimantan Utara seperti dilansir MailOnline.
A SOLDIER aboard a military helicopter that crashed in remote Indonesian jungle more than two weeks ago has been found alive, an army spokesman said Friday.
Yohanes Syahputra was found late Thursday by villagers on Borneo island in an exhausted state, army spokesman Sabrar Fadhilah told AFP.
"Thanks be to God almighty, we have found one of the passengers of the downed helicopter," Fadhilah said in a text message.
"The victim was found with wounds on his hands, waist and legs, and was weak as he hadn't eaten in days."
Syahputra was aboard a Bell 412 helicopter with four other military personnel when it lost contact on November 24 over a remote stretch of Bornean jungle, the army said.
The wrecked chopper was found three days later, having crashed during a delivery run to a remote army post near the Malaysian border.
Three crew had died but one was found alive. The location was so difficult to reach the airman had to be winched by rope, the military said.
Syahputra however was not found and was feared dead, with the terrain deemed too inhospitable.
The chopper went down deep in the forested, mountainous interior of Borneo, miles from any major city.
A farmer discovered the soldier resting at a hut on the outskirts of a plantation, where he had been eating sugar for sustenance, local media reported.
He was taken to a villager's home in Long Sulit and offered food and water, the reports said.
Fadhilah said Syahputra would be evacuated for medical check ups at a hospital in Tarakan, one of the main cities on the north-eastern coast of Borneo.
The military has closely guarded the details surrounding the accident and discovery of Syahputra.
It's just the latest fatal crash for Indonesia's accident-prone military.
Twelve people were killed in March when a military helicopter went down in bad weather on Sulawesi in central Indonesia.
Three died when a separate military chopper crashed into a home in Central Java in July.
It's also not the first time a passenger has made a miraculous escape in an Indonesian air disaster.
Last year a man was found alive, naked and floating in a huge volcanic lake on Sumatra island, two days after the helicopter in which he was travelling crashed.
He was rushed to hospital after being found conscious but very weak, wearing only a black watch, in Lake Toba.
