THREE CONFIRMED DEAD AFTER HELICOPTER CRASH IN SOUTHWESTERN JAPAN

FUKUOKA (Japan), April 7 (Bernama-Kyodo) -- Two more people have been confirmed dead after a medical transport helicopter crash off Nagasaki Prefecture on Sunday, taking the total deaths to three, according to the coast guard.

Kyodo News reported that the coast guard said the death of an 86-year-old female patient, one of six people on board, was confirmed on the day of the incident. A 68-year-old male family member accompanying her and a 34-year-old male doctor were also pronounced dead on Monday.

Local authorities took measures to prevent the helicopter from sinking and monitored it while working to determine the exact cause of the accident. The helicopter left the airport on the island of Tsushima in the prefecture around 1.30 pm local time on Sunday.

The helicopter, operated under contract by a private aviation company, was scheduled to arrive at a hospital in Fukuoka, the largest city on the southwestern island of Kyushu, at around 2.15 pm. It is believed to have struck trouble when its tracker stopped moving around 1.43 pm.

At about 5.05 pm., a Coast Guard patrol vessel found the missing helicopter floating upside down and rescued three people alive and conscious. The other three passengers were also retrieved but later confirmed dead.

According to the hospital and authorities, the medical transport helicopter had previously been temporarily grounded to undergo safety checks after two people died in a crash in Fukuoka Prefecture linked to the same aviation firm last July.

No irregularities were detected when the helicopter involved in the latest accident was inspected on Friday.

-- BERNAMA-KYODO