JAKARTA ~ Two technicians were killed by spinning rotor blades when the helicopter they were servicing flipped onto its side at an air base, the Transport Ministry said on Thursday.

The Eurocopter Super Puma belonging to Pelita Air tilted to the side killing the men at an airforce base near Jakarta shortly after the pilot started the engines, ministry spokesman Bambang Ervan said.

“The Super Puma helicopter tilted to the left and rotor blades hit the two technicians standing on the apron at the edge of the airstrip. They died instantly,” Ervan said.

“The pilot and a technician on board were also injured, but I haven’t been informed yet how serious their injuries are,” he said, adding that the ministry planned to launch an investigation into the accident.