A firefighting helicopter crashed into the Barito River in South Kalimantan on Sunday, 8 November, while scooping water to fight forest fires, leaving one Indonesian crew member missing and two Australian pilots alive.

The Super Puma H-225 helicopter, registered VH-HGM and chartered by Indonesia's National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), went down near Tabatan village in Kuripan district, Barito Kuala regency, during a water-bombing mission. Video footage showed the aircraft being dragged downward after filling its bucket from the river, before plunging nose-first into the water.

BNPB said the two Australian pilots on board survived and received medical treatment. The third person on board, Indonesian helicopter landing officer Yayan Supyansuri, remained unaccounted for, and a search was under way. The agency had first reported that all three crew members were safe, then corrected that account after confirming that only two had been found alive.

"One other crew member, Indonesian national Yayan Supyansuri, who was serving as Helicopter Landing Officer, is still missing and the search is under way," Berton SP Panjaitan, acting head of BNPB's disaster data, information and communication centre, said in a written statement on Sunday.

Indonesia's National Search and Rescue Agency sent an 18-person team from Banjarmasin, equipped with a rigid inflatable boat, diving equipment and an underwater detection device. The team was dispatched at 1.10pm Central Indonesia Time and was expected to reach the site, about 141 kilometres from the rescue office, by early evening. The Indonesian Air Force, police, village-level military officers and local residents were also involved in the search.

The cause of the crash has not been established. BNPB said it could not yet conclude what went wrong and would support an official investigation by the relevant authorities. The agency also pledged a comprehensive review of aviation safety covering the fleet's technical readiness, water-bombing procedures, crew airworthiness, weather conditions and the characteristics of the location.

Sunday's crash was the second in days involving a firefighting helicopter. A military helicopter carrying eight people crashed during a mission to fight fires in Tanjung Puting National Park on Wednesday, killing three people. That accident's cause is also under investigation.

Indonesia has relied heavily on air operations to fight fires that have burned through large areas of Sumatra, Borneo and Papua for months, sending choking haze drifting to neighbouring Malaysia, East Timor and Singapore. According to deforestation monitor Nusantara Atlas, the fires have destroyed more than 1.9 million hectares. The fires are driven in part by a strong El Nino weather pattern, which typically brings drought to Indonesia.

BNPB said its response to the forest and land fires would continue despite the crash, with ground operations strengthened and stricter evaluations of aviation deployments. Its immediate priorities, the agency said, are finding the missing crew member, supporting the surviving pilots' recovery and securing the wreckage on the riverbank.