Three men died on Sunday when a Nagano prefectural government rescue helicopter with nine aboard crashed in a mountainous area in central Nagano during a mountain rescue drill, local authorities said….
Three men died on Sunday when a Nagano prefectural government rescue helicopter with nine aboard crashed in a mountainous area in central Nagano during a mountain rescue drill, local authorities said. The three were pronounced dead after rescue workers pulled them out of the helicopter. Two other men, who were found stuck in the helicopter and unconscious, are expected to be pulled out on Monday morning, police said. The police and firefighters were trying to locate the remaining four. The Bell 412EP was carrying seven firefighters, a pilot and an engineer, all prefectural personnel, according to the prefecture. It took off from Matsumoto airport in Nagano around 1.30pm and, according to a flight plan filed with the transport ministry, was scheduled to land on the Takabocchi Plateau in Shiojiri in the prefecture at 1.
