Safety & Health

Bodies Found from S. Korean Firefighting Chopper Crash

Nov. 3, 2019

A South Korean fire department helicopter with seven people on board crashed into the waters off the country's eastern coast last week.

Source dpa, Hamburg, Germany

A South Korean fire department helicopter with seven people on board crashed off the country's eastern coast Thursday.

SEOUL—Rescue workers recovered two bodies from the waters off South Korea's eastern coast following a helicopter crash earlier this week, local media reported on Sunday.

On Thursday, a fire department helicopter with seven people on board crashed soon after taking off from the disputed islets known as Dokdo in South Korea and Takeshima in Japan.

The Coast Guard retrieved two bodies, both male, and brought them to a hospital morgue on Sunday, news agency Yonhap reported.

"One was topless and wearing navy pants, while the other had put on an orange top and navy pants, which tell us that he may well be one of the firefighters," Yonhap cited a Coast Guard official as saying at a press briefing.

Rescuers also located a third body inside the fuselage of the aircraft.

The news agency said that dozens of Navy and Coast Guard vessels had been mobilized, and some 25 divers were working at the scene.

Media reports citing fire officials said the helicopter had just picked up an injured sailor when it crashed shortly after taking off from Dokdo for still unknown reasons.

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