Indonesia: Helicopter missing with five on board

A light helicopter Eurocopter EC-130 (Source:BBC)

A light helicopter Eurocopter EC-130 carrying five people has dropped off the Toba Lake in Tampahan Tobasa district, the Indonesian province of Sumatra.

According to the local media, a fisherman saw a helicopter flying low over the lake in the noon of October 12 and he heard a strong blast after that.

Currently, fishermen are helping police search the helicopter debris.

The light helicopter lost contact at 12:20 of October 11 while it was on a chattered flight from Samosir island to Kualanamu airport in North Sumatra's capital, Medan. It was carrying two crewmen and three passengers.

Earlier this month, Indonesia’s DHC-6 Twin Otter plane crashed in South Sulawesi province, killing all 10 people on board.

The Aviastar Twin Otter DHC-6 aircraft– with four adults, three children and three crew on board – lost contact with air traffic control shortly after taking off from Masamba airport in North Luwu en route for South Sulawesi’s capital Makassar .-VNA