One Passenger of Missing Helicopter Found Alive

Medan, N Sumatra, Oct 23 (ANTARA Lampung) - One passenger of a helicopter, which had gone missing in North Sumatra, was found alive on Tuesday at 1 p.m. local time.

The survivor was identified as Fransiskus Subihardayan, an employee of PT Penerbangan Angkasa Semesta (PAS), which owns the ill-fated chopper, spokesman of the North Sumatra police Senior Commissioner Helfi Assegaf stated here on Tuesday.

The villagers found the survivor among the water hyacinths growing along the banks of Lake Toba in Onan Runggu village, Onan Runggu District, Samosir Regency, North Sumatra Province.

"The victim is now being treated at the Onan Runggu community health center (Puskesmas)," Assegaf noted.

A search and rescue (SAR) team is still looking for the four other people missing along with the EC-130 helicopter that lost contact with the air traffic control during a flight in North Sumatra Province on Sunday (Oct. 10) at 12:20 p.m. local time.

"The helicopter was flying from Siparmahan, or the western coast of Lake Toba, to Kualanamu via Pematang Siantar," Hemi Pramurahardjo, the spokesman of the transportation ministry, noted in a statement on Sunday.

The chopper belonging to PAS was piloted by Captain Teguh Mulyanto. The ill-fated helicopter also had onboard technician Hari Poerwantono along with three passengers: Nurhayanto, Giyanto, and Frans.

"The status of the helicopter is uncertain, which means it might have lost contact. There are ongoing efforts to find it. It might have diverted from its route or something," he stated.

The Medan airport authorities and the Medan SAR team are working in tandem to look for the missing chopper.