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

'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,' Mr 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 the ministry plans to launch an investigation into the accident.

Indonesia, an archipelago nation of over 17,000 islands, is heavily dependent on air links but its airline industry has been marred by a dire safety record and a string of deadly accidents in past years. -- AFP