Perth businessman among four killed in Kalimantan plane crash

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Perth businessman Peter Elliott. -Photo by www.smh.com.au

EAST KUTAI, EAST KALIMANTAN: Rescue teams have found the body of an Australian man and three others killed when their small chartered plane crashed in Indonesian Borneo, an official said Monday.

Peter John Elliott, who chartered the survey flight for his Perth-based mining company, Elliott Geophysics International, was among the four dead in the burnt wreckage reached late Sunday, National Search and Rescue Agency spokesman Gagah Prakoso told AFP.

“The plane was found around a coal-mining area. We believe it crashed into trees and caught fire. All four people died. Their bodies were badly burnt,” he said.

The twin-engine Piper Navajo Chieftain plane was found in a forested area of East Kutai district in East Kalimantan province two days after it went missing, Prakoso said.

Local media reports said the three others flying with Elliott were Indonesians, including one pilot.

Their remains were taken to a hospital in the city of Samarinda – where the group had taken off on Friday for a short surveying flight.

“Weather, like strong winds, might have caused the plane to become unsteady,” Prakoso said, adding that investigations are ongoing.

Elliott Geophysics International specialises in mineral, oil and coal exploration, according to its website.

The Australian Embassy in Jakarta said it was providing consular assistance to Elliott’s family.- AFP