Helicopter Carrying Chief Police of Jambi Stranded in Forest After Emergency Landing

Liputan6.com, Kerinci - A helicopter carrying the Chief Police of Jambi, Rusdi Hartono, stranded in a hilly area after making an emergency landing. Eight passengers inside that helicopter have been declared survived, although with injuries. 

The Police HQ released the information on Sunday that a helicopter carrying the chief police of Jambi and other police officials made an emergency landing in Kerincy Regency, which is also located in Jambi Province.

The Indonesian Chief Police, General Listyo Sigit Prabowo, said that some of the survivors were still capable of communicating despite their injuries.

He said the passengers were on-duty. They were flying from Jambi City to Kerinci.

"From Jambi to Kerinci is far, therefore we have to use helicopters, and the weather was bad, and foggy, thus there was a condition to make an emergency landing," said Listyo in his statement.

Listyo said the helicopter lost contact at 11.20 AM, but the police were able to locate their position. The SAR team alongside volunteers were immediately trying to reach the location.

"But because the area is hilly, it took time. Please give your prayers so the evacuation could be done quickly," said Listyo.

On Monday, the spokesperson at the Police HQ said the police already reached the landing place. However, the bad weather was interrupting the evacuation process. The evacuation was halted in the evening because of wind and thunder. 

Some passengers were reportedly suffering from bleeding on his face, while the chief police of Jambi suffered from a broken arm. 

Photos have shown that multiple men were already reaching the area and giving medical treatment to the victims.

The police sent six helicopters to help the evacuation process in the forest of Tamia Hills. The helicopters were sent from the Police, Air Force, and National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas). The police force from the neighboring South Sumatera police was also deployed to bring logistics, including medicines. 

One helicopter was deployed by a forestry company Wirakarya Sakti (WKS). But the helicopters could not perform efficiently because of the rainy weather.

The police will continue the rescue operation on Tuesday morning.

Ady Anugrahadi, Nanda Perdana Putra, and Antara.com contributed to this report.