Three people were killed as a helicopter crashed in Indonesia's eastern province of North Maluku, Head of Search and Rescue Office in the province Fatur Rahman said Wednesday.

The wreckage of the chopper operated by PT Weda Bay Nickel firm was found by rescuers on Wednesday in a forest of Halmahera Tengah regency, Rahman said.

"All the three people on board were dead," he told Xinhua by phone, referring to the pilot, co-pilot and a passenger.

The helicopter with the type of Bell 429 PK-WSW lost contact at 13:16 p.m. local time a day earlier when it was flying above the forest in the regency, Rahman said.

Rahman said the cause of the crash could not be determined at this moment.

"The Transport-Safety Committee would conduct an investigation on the cause of the incident," he said.

A joint team comprising 300 personnel from the search and rescue office, soldiers, policemen, and others had been involved in the search and rescue mission, according to him.

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