Australian-registered waterbombing helicopter crashes into Borneo river in Indonesia; Australians safe, Indonesian crew member unaccounted for

Summary

An Australian-registered waterbombing helicopter crashed into a river in Indonesia's Borneo region while fighting fires that have raged across the island. ABC News reports that video shows the helicopter collecting water for water-bombing operations in South Kalimantan province before it lost control and crashed into the river, and that two Australians were rescued. The Hindu reports that footage showed the firefighting helicopter being slowly dragged downward after filling its bucket from the Barito River before plunging nose-first into the water, and that a crew member is missing. The Sydney Morning Herald reports that an Australian walked away from the crash, but its two articles differ on the Indonesian crew member: one says the crew member died and the other says the crew member is missing. The crew member's fate is therefore reported inconsistently and is not confirmed in the articles.

Timeline

1. Sydney Morning Herald

   8 Nov 2026, 07:52 UTCSource ↗

   Reports that an Australian-registered waterbombing helicopter has gone down in an Indonesian river.

2. ABC News

   8 Nov 2026, 09:19 UTCSource ↗

   Reports that video shows the helicopter collecting water for water-bombing operations in South Kalimantan province before it loses control and crashes into the river, and that two Australians were rescued.

3. The Hindu

   8 Nov 2026, 09:53 UTCSource ↗

   Reports that footage showed the firefighting helicopter being slowly dragged downward after filling its bucket from the Barito River before plunging nose-first into the water, and that a crew member is missing.

4. Sydney Morning Herald

   9 Nov 2026, 01:29 UTCSource ↗

   Reports that an Australian walked away from the helicopter crash while fighting fires in remote Indonesia, and that an Indonesian crew member died when the helicopter plunged into a remote river.