Indonesia Soldier Found Alive 2 Weeks after Helicopter Crash in Remote Borneo Jungle

A soldier aboard a military helicopter that crashed in remote Indonesian jungle two weeks ago has been found alive, an army spokesman said..

 

Jakarta, 10 Rabi’ul Awwal 1438/10 December 2016 (MINA) – A soldier has been miraculously found alive in remote Indonesian jungle – two weeks after he was involved in a helicopter crash.

Yohanes Syahputra had been aboard a Bell 412 helicopter with four other military personnel when it lost contact on November 24 over a remote part of Borneo.

But he was found by villagers in an exhausted state and sheltering in a plantation hut where he had been surviving on sugar.

‘Thanks be to God almighty, we have found one of the passengers of the downed helicopter,’ Malay Online quoted army spokesman Sabrar Fadhilah as saying.

‘The victim was found with wounds on his hands, waist and legs, and was weak as he hadn’t eaten in days.’

The wrecked chopper was found three days after it went missing, having crashed during its delivery run to a remote army post near the Malaysian border.

Three crew had died, but one survived and was airlifted to safety. Syahputra was not found.

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.

It is 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.

This recent chopper accident was just the latest 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. (T/R07/R01)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)