Search teams were able to track a sightseeing helicopter that went missing in southwestern Japan yesterday with two Taiwanese passengers on board, but rescue operations were delayed until the weather improved, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Fukuoka said.
Two Taiwanese passengers and a pilot were believed to be aboard a sightseeing helicopter that went missing at about noon near the summit of Mount Aso in Kumamoto Prefecture, Kyodo news agency reported.
The helicopter departed at 10:52am from the Aso Cuddly Dominion zoo and contact was lost at about 11am, Kyodo cited the operator as saying.
Photo: Wang Chin-yi, Taipei Times
The Kumamoto Prefectural Police dispatched a mountain rescue team, as well as 32 officers and a helicopter, while the fire department sent 20 firefighters and a disaster-response helicopter, the report said.
The Japan Air Self-Defense Forces, based at Ashiya Air Base in Fukuoka Prefecture, also dispatched a helicopter and a fixed-wing aircraft to assist with aerial searches.
The Kumamoto Nichinichi Shimbun later reported that a police air search had found helicopter wreckage near a crater of Mount Aso, with a search team confirming it was the missing craft via the aircraft’s serial number.
The sightseeing aircraft was severely damaged and the terrain made approaching it difficult, the newspaper reported.
The helicopter was on its third sightseeing flight of the day when it went missing and no abnormalities had been reported during the first two flights, the Kyodo report said.
The zoo offers panoramic helicopter rides over the area, which is famed for its volcanic landscapes.
Search teams successfully tracked the helicopter’s location via mobile phone signals, office head Chen Ming-chun (陳銘俊) said.
However, rescue personnel had been unable to reach the site due to dense fog, he said, adding that operations were expected to resume as soon as weather conditions improve and volcanic venting levels subside.
Kumamoto Prefecture Governor Takashi Kimura was quoted by Chen as saying that all residents of Kumamoto were deeply concerned about the safety of the Taiwanese visitors and the pilot, and that authorities would continue to monitor the situation closely.
The Tourism Administration said it had not yet received any reports of an incident from travel agencies.
After checking with the office’s Fukuoka branch and major travel industry associations, the agency said no information indicated that the case involved a tour group.
Sightseeing helicopter tours over Mount Aso typically have limited capacity and are more commonly used by independent travelers, travel industry businesses said, adding that such flights are highly weather-dependent and unlikely to involve tour groups.
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