SOUTH KALIMANTAN, Indonesia, Sept. 14, 2025 — Indonesian authorities have officially completed the meticulous identification of all eight victims from the BK117 D3 helicopter crash in the forests of Tanah Bumbu Regency.
Nine-Day Effort Confirms Identities of All Helicopter Crash Victims
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A nine-day operation concluded with the final confirmation of all eight individuals aboard the crashed BK117 D3 helicopter.
- All eight victims from the BK117 D3 helicopter crash have been identified.
- The identification process took nine days, concluding on September 13, 2025.
- Victims included three foreign nationals and five Indonesian citizens.
- DNA testing was crucial for identifying severely burned remains.
The national police’s Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) team finished its painstaking work, bringing closure to families after a solemn, nine-day effort that began on Friday, September 5, 2025.
Commissioner General Muhammad El Yandiko, head of the Medical and Health Division for the South Kalimantan Regional Police, confirmed the completion. “All the bodies of the victims have been identified,” he stated on Saturday, September 13, 2025, noting that DNA testing was key for the final two.
Gradual Revelations Bring Full Picture
The DVI team revealed the victims’ identities in stages. Three foreign nationals were identified on Saturday, September 6, 2025. The following day, Sunday, September 7, 2025, saw the confirmation of three Indonesian citizens. The final two Indonesian citizens were identified on Saturday, September 13, 2025, necessitating DNA analysis due to severe burns.
What happened to the BK117 D3 helicopter?
The BK117 D3 helicopter lost contact on Monday, September 1, 2025, around 08:54 WITA (Central Indonesian Time). Its wreckage was located on Wednesday, September 3, 2025, in a forest area in South Kalimantan.
Yandiko emphasized the thoroughness of the operation. The DVI team employed a comprehensive range of data, including fingerprints, dental records, medical histories, personal effects, and DNA analysis, to ensure absolute certainty before releasing the remains to their families.
“The identification process is very meticulous, we must not hand over the bodies with doubts,” Yandiko said. “We must be certain that the bodies match the identities to be returned to their respective families.”
With all identifications complete, the National Police DVI Team officially closed its operation for this incident on Saturday, September 13, 2025.
Victims Identified
The eight individuals aboard the helicopter have been identified as Captain Haryanto Tahir, the pilot from Batam City, Riau Islands, and Hendra Darmawan, a technician from Luwu Regency, South Sulawesi.
The six passengers included Mark Werren from Australia, Santha Kumar Prabhakaran from India, and Claudine Pereira Quito from Brazil. Indonesian passengers were Iboy Irfan Rosa from Kuantan Singingi, Riau; Yudi Febrian Rahman from Pekanbaru, Riau; and Andys Rissa Pasulu from Balikpapan, East Kalimantan.
Search and Recovery Timeline
The helicopter wreckage was discovered by a joint Search and Rescue (SAR) team on Wednesday, September 3, 2025, at approximately 14:45 WITA (Central Indonesian Time). The crash site was located in the forest near Desa Emil Baru, Mentewe District, Tanah Bumbu Regency, South Kalimantan, at coordinates 03° 5’6″ S – 115° 37’39.07″ E.
The aircraft had been reported missing on Monday, September 1, 2025, around 08:54 WITA. The discovered wreckage was found about 700 meters from coordinates previously provided by the National Transportation Safety Committee.
The SAR team successfully evacuated all the victims’ bodies on Thursday night, September 4, 2025, around 21:50 WITA.
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