Timika, Papua. The Timika Search and Rescue (SAR) Office confirmed Thursday that all four people aboard the Intan Angkasa Air Service helicopter PK-IWS, which crashed in Jila District, Mimika Regency, Central Papua, were found dead.

Charles Y. Batlajery, head of operations and preparedness at Timika SAR, said the victims’ bodies had been evacuated to Jila and were expected to be flown to Timika later in the day.

“All four victims have been found and confirmed dead. Our team remains at the crash site,” Charles said.

The victims were identified as pilot Eko Puja, technician Sudirman, and two passengers, Anto and Zulkifli.

Six SAR personnel were deployed Thursday morning to reach the crash site, where they found the helicopter burned and lying on the edge of a cliff at an altitude of about 11,000 feet.

The accident occurred after two Intan Angkasa helicopters,  PK-IWD and PK-IWS, departed Ilaga for Timika on Wednesday morning. PK-IWD took off about 10 minutes earlier, and the two pilots communicated intermittently during the flight.

PK-IWS was briefly detected by radar in Sentani, Jayapura, before contact was lost. At first, officials suspected the aircraft had made an emergency landing due to poor weather, but later confirmed it had crashed on Wednesday afternoon.

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