Three helicopters were deployed to evacuate the victims.
Jayapura, Papua (ANTARA) - Three crew members of a helicopter of PT National Utility Helicopters (NUH) that made an emergency landing in a Papuan hinterland on Sept 17 were evacuated and treated at Nabire General Hospital, a spokesman stated.

Crew members of the helicopter, which lost contact on its flight from Nabire to Baya Biru in Paniai District, sustained injuries, Chief of the Nabire District Police Adjunct Senior Commissioner Sonny Tampubolon stated on Saturday.

The three crew members are identified as Erik Kurniawan, 48; pilot, Endy Nawalaga, 44; and Aswar Jamal, 31.

Kurniawan suffered injuries to his head, chest, and leg; while Nawalaga, 44, got injured on the head and leg, and Jamal suffered from a broken left arm, Tampubolon remarked.

The trio were evacuated from Dageuwo River using a helicopter to the 100-kilometer mark in Sirimo from where they were flown to Nabire, he stated.

"Three helicopters were deployed to evacuate the victims," he noted.

The ill-fated helicopter lost contact at 1:30 p.m. local time on Thursday (Sept 17) while carrying food items from Nabire to Baya Biru.

Gusti Anwar Mulyadi, chief of the Search and Rescue (SAR) office in Biak, had earlier stated that the helicopter was found 4,700 meters above sea level in Paniai District on Friday (Sept 18).

Three helicopters -- from the Mimika district administration, PT Intan Angkasa Air Service, PT Freeport Indonesia, and the Indonesian Air Force (TNI AU) -- were later deployed to evacuate crew members.

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Translator: Evarukdijati/Suharto
Editor: Sri Haryati
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