Pilot killed in Indonesia helicopter crash

A helicopter has crashed in a remote region in eastern Indonesia leaving the pilot dead and three passengers critically wounded.

Officials said on Saturday the Bell 206 helicopter went down in Paniai district, Papua Province.

"We have evacuated the passengers to the nearby city of Nabire so they could get medical treatment," said Agus Rianto, a spokesman for Indonesia's national police.

Papua, the easternmost province of Indonesia, is a remote, mountainous area and light aircraft are commonly used for transport in the province.

It was not immediately clear how many passengers were on board the chopper and what caused it to go down as weather conditions were reported to be normal at the time of the incident.

The region’s difficult terrain, bad weather and poor safety have caused several aviation accidents in Indonesia in recent years.

SS