Indonesian helicopter carrying five loses contact in Sumatra

An Indonesian chopper carrying five people on Sunday lost contact with air traffic control during a flight on Sumatra island, an official said, in the latest blow to the country’s troubled aviation sector.

The single-engine light Eurocopter EC-130 belonging to PT Penerbangan Angkasa Semesta took off for the hour-long flight from Sumatra’s Samosir island to Kualanamu airport in Medan city when it lost contact at 12.20 pm, transport ministry spokesman J A Barata told AFP.

The civil helicopter was carrying a pilot, an engineer and three passengers, he said.

“It lost contact with the air traffic control at Kualanamu about 10 minutes before it was expected to arrive. We have sent the search and rescue agency personnel to look for it,” he said. “We don’t want to speculate on what might happen to the aircraft. Our priority now is to find it as soon as we can,” he added.