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Military chopper crash in Indonesia kills 13

10 November 2013 03:40 (UTC +04:00)

According to local military commander Dicky Wainal Usman, the accident occurred on Saturday while the aircraft was landing.

The chopper’s back rotor blades unexpectedly started spinning out of control before it smashed into a cliff, Usman added.

The aircraft was carrying seven soldiers, 12 civilians and some 1,800 kilograms of construction material, said Indonesian military spokesman Rear Admiral Iskandar Sitompul.

"The engine apparently lost power while landing," Sitompul said. "We are still investigating what caused the crash of our new helicopter."

"Thirteen people died in the crash while the rest suffered burn injuries," he added.

The Russian-made Mi-17 aircraft was en route to the outpost in Malinau district, North Kalimantan province, near the Malaysian border, Sitompul stated.

Indonesia, a sprawling archipelagic nation of 240 million, relies heavily on air transport and has one of Asia's worst air safety records.

In recent years, it has been plagued by transportation accidents, from plane and train crashes to ferry sinkings.