Rescue chopper crashes during drill

A helicopter belonging to the National Police Administrations' airborne squadron crashed into a river during a rescue drill in Tainan County yesterday, leaving the copilot in a coma and five others injured.

Officials said engine failure might have caused the French-made Dauphin 365N2 helicopter to plunge into the river.

The accident occurred at around 11:30am, when the airborne squadron joined the Tainan County Government's fire department in a rescue exercise around a sandbank in Tsengwen Creek (曾文溪).

The helicopter was lowering a policeman over the river when the helicopter tilted and briefly dropped into the water. When the chopper took off again, it began to spin out of control about 10m above the river.

Seconds later, the aircraft plunged into the water. As the chopper rolled onto its side, the massive rotor blades dug into the water and splintered into fragments.

Co-pilot Lin Jung-ta (林榮達) has been in a coma since the crash. The other five, pilot Wang Chi-chiang (王繼強), chief mechanic Hsieh Hsi-ming (謝錫明), police officer Kuan Cheng-kuo (關正國) as well as firefighters Chiu Chi-fang (邱琦芳) and Tseng Kuo-shun (曾國順) were taken to hospital suffering from cuts and bruises and were in stable condition, doctors said.

The National Police Administration has set up a task force to look into the causes of the accident.

According to the pilot, the chopper lost power shortly before the crash, likely because of an engine malfunction.

Data from the police administration showed that the helicopter was purchased in May 1993 and had accumulated 2,420 hours of flying time.

The exercise was intended to be a simulation of the Pachang Creek (八掌溪) incident that occurred in Chiayi County on July 22, in which four construction workers were stranded on a sandbank in the middle of the creek after a sudden rise of river water. The workers were washed away in front of TV cameras after the rescue effort was delayed, triggering a wave of criticism against the government.

Premier Tang Fei (唐飛) yesterday said the helicopter crash highlighted Taiwan's need to improve its rescue operations.

"Today's accident shows that we need to improve our equipment and training in all aspects," Tang said.

Tang said though accidents were inevitable in drills, measures should be taken to minimize the possibility of mishaps.

The government has been eager to show improvements in its emergency services since July's bungled river rescue, but some training courses have had embarrassing results.

Last month, rescue workers tested pistols designed to launch flares and ropes into the air, but none of them worked.

In another exercise covered live on television, a cameraman was thrown into a river when two police dinghy boats collided.