Three dead in Japan after medical helicopter crash

Three people have been confirmed dead after a medical transport helicopter crash off southwestern Japan on Sunday, Kyodo News reported, citing the coast guard.

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 Nagasaki Prefecture around 1:30 pm on Sunday.

The helicopter 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.