An Australian man has described the miraculous moment he and four others survived a horrific helicopter crash in Bali’s South Kuta region on his birthday.
Outside the hospital on Saturday, Russell Harris spoke about the moment the Bell Jet Model 5055 helicopter crashed into the Pecatu Cliffs 24 hours earlier.
“Probably after three or four minutes, we saw a kite, a bit late,” he told 9 News outside a Balinese hospital.
There were five people on board when the vehicle crashed: Harris, his partner, another friend from Perth, two Indonesian locals and the pilot.
The flight was organised to celebrate Mr Harris’s 46th birthday.
After the kite string became entangled around the helicopter’s main rotor, it crashed into a mixed residential area near the ocean.
All five people on board were treated and three were taken to Siloam Hospital with serious injuries.
“It dropped us 30 to 50 meters pretty quickly,” Harris said.
Russell Harris worked in the mining industry in WA before recently moving to Bali. He survived the helicopter crash in the island’s South Kuta region along with the others on board.
The Bell Jet Model 5055 helicopter crashed into the Pecatu Cliffs after the helicopter’s blades became entangled in kite strings.
He described the moment the vehicle fell from the sky before coming to rest upside down on the cliff face.
“Trees first… I remember that,” Harris said.
‘Then we hit a cliff and were face down.’
Indonesia’s search and rescue agency Basarnas said the helicopter took off from Garuda Wisnu Kencana (GWK) for a tour of the island starting at 2:33 p.m. local time.
Basarnas reported that the helicopter crashed a few minutes later, at 2.37 p.m.
Mr Harris said he was grateful the pilot managed to regain control after the kite entanglement and told Nine News that if the accident had happened at an altitude of 200 to 300 metres, he and the others would not be alive.
“It’s obviously very scary, it’s my first time in a helicopter,” he said.
“Today was my birthday, that’s why it was.”
Mr. Harris and his partner were on board and after making the trip for his birthday
Harris said he remembered hitting trees and a cliff before the helicopter came to a halt. There were no fatalities and three people, including Harris, were taken to the hospital.
Local security authorities are investigating the accident that occurred during a Balinese festival where kites are traditionally flown (pictured: the kite string around the rotor)
In a statement, Indonesia’s Ministry of Transport said: “The Directorate General of Civil Aviation Ditjen Hubud has received a report regarding the accident of the Bell 505 helicopter type PK-WSP belonging to PT. Whitesky Aviation.”
‘Initial information is that all passengers have been confirmed to have survived the accident.
‘At this time, aviation inspectors from the Airport Authority Region IV Office are en route to the crash site. PT. Whitesky Aviation has also sent an investigation team to the scene.
‘The Ministry of Transport, through the General Directorate of Communications, will carry out greater dissemination and monitoring of the dangers of kites.’
