Australian Michael Betteridge and New Zealander Hugh Page were named as the survivors of a helicopter crash in Indonesia, the ABC reported on 9 November 2026. Local authorities said the aircraft nosedived into a river on Borneo the day before while collecting water for firefighting operations from the Barito River in South Kalimantan province. A third crew member, Indonesian navigator Yayan Supyansuri, died and was found by rescue teams, according to the report. The two survivors were pulled from the water and treated at a military hospital.

The helicopter was contracted to Indonesian authorities during what the report described as the country's worst forest and land fire season in more than a decade. A National Disaster Management Agency spokesperson said the agency was committed to facilitating an official investigation and would conduct a safety evaluation covering fleet readiness, water-bombing procedures, crew fitness and qualifications, weather and site conditions. Australia's foreign affairs department said it was providing consular assistance to a rescued Australian, and New Zealand's foreign ministry said its Jakarta embassy was making enquiries.

The report noted a separate water-bombing helicopter crash on 4 November in Central Kalimantan killed three Indonesian crew. Indonesia's environment minister said more than 100,000 personnel had been involved in firefighting that year, and the health ministry attributed more than 400,000 acute respiratory infections to smoke and haze.