Helicopter disappears in Indonesia

A search was under way for a helicopter with five people on board that might have plunged into a lake in the North Sumatra province.

|||

Jakarta - A search was under way for a helicopter with five people on board that might have plunged into a lake in Indonesia’s North Sumatra province, a rescue official said on Monday.

The helicopter, owned by the charter company Penerbangan Angkasa Semesta, disappeared on Sunday, the latest of a series of air accidents in Indonesia in recent months.

“Residents said they saw a helicopter flying low over Lake Toba and heard a crashing sound,” said Gusti Syaiful, the head of the local search and rescue agency.

The chopper was on a 45-minute trip to the Kuala Namu international airport in Medan city.

Lake Toba is a 100-kilometre-long natural body of water occupying the caldera of a supervolcano.

DPA