A firefighting helicopter carrying two Australians has plunged into a river in Indonesia while collecting water to battle raging forest fires.
The Aussies survived the dramatic crash in South Kalimantan on the island of Borneo, but their Indonesian navigator was killed in the accident.
The incident occurred when the Eurocopter EC225LP Super Puma was conducting water bombing operations over the Barito River.
Dramatic footage circulating on social media shows the helicopter hovering over the water as it lowered a suspended bucket to collect water for firefighting operations.
However, moments after scooping up water, the aircraft appeared to lose control, rapidly losing altitude before plunging nose-first into the river.
Local residents rushed to assist with the rescue, with footage showing the helicopter partially submerged and its wreckage being recovered from the water.
Indonesia’s National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) confirmed that two Australian crew members had survived the crash and were receiving medical examinations and treatment.
An 18-member rescue team was deployed to the crash site as authorities worked to recover the wreckage and establish what went wrong.
The accident is the second fatal helicopter crash involving Indonesian firefighting operations in less than a week.
On November 4, an Indonesian military helicopter crashed during a water bombing mission in Central Kalimantan, killing three crew members and injuring five others.
Indonesia is currently battling one of its worst forest and land fire seasons in more than a decade, with widespread blazes affecting large areas of Borneo, Sumatra and Papua.
