TAIPEI, JAN. 3
Taiwan’s top military official was among eight people killed on Thursday after the helicopter carrying them made a forced landing in a mountainous area near the capital Taipei, the defence ministry said.
The main portion of the helicopter lay in a northern forest wreathed in mist, with its blades shattered into pieces, as dozens of rescuers combed the wreck for survivors, pictures released by emergency authorities showed. The chief of general staff, Air Force General Shen Yi-ming, died in the incident, while five of the 13 people aboard survived, the military said in a statement.
“Eight of our colleagues were killed,” a military spokesman told a news conference broadcast live on television.
The defence ministry said it had dispatched a rescue team following the Black Hawk helicopter’s forced landing in New Taipei City, after aviation authorities lost contact with the craft at 8:22 a.m.
The helicopter had left Taipei on a mission to visit soldiers in the northeast county of Yilan ahead of Lunar New Year at month-end.
The incident comes a week before democratic Taiwan holds presidential and parliamentary elections on January 11. AGENCIES
