Two crew members and six passengers were killed when a private helicopter crashed in dense forest on Indonesia's Borneo island, the transport ministry said Friday.

This photo provided by Indonesia's National Search And Rescue Agency (Basarnas) shows debris of a helicopter which crashed in Sekadau regency in West Kalimantan province, Indonesia, April 16, 2026. (Photo: Xinhua)

The Airbus helicopter, owned by local firm Matthew Air Nusantara, lost contact with air traffic control about five minutes after takeoff in the West Kalimantan province on Thursday morning.

All eight on board were men and one was a Malaysian national, civil aviation director general Lukman F. Laisa said in a statement.

"The joint search and rescue team had successfully located the crash site of the aircraft and, based on information from the field, all passengers and crew members have been confirmed dead," he said.

Rescuers found the crash victims Thursday evening in a dense forest area with steep slopes, search and rescue agency head I Made Junetra told AFP Friday.

The bodies were being flown to the provincial capital of Pontianak, Made added.