Taiwan confirmed the killing of the chief of staff and seven soldiers in a helicopter crash in the north of the country Thursday.
The Taiwan Ministry of Defense said that the chief of staff, "Shin Yi Ming," 62, is among the top military personnel who died in today's accident.
The UH-60M Black Hawk military helicopter took off at 07:50 hours from the Taiwanese capital, Taipei City, on a routine mission to inspect troops deployed in remote areas of the eastern Yilan Province.
The ministry added that the helicopter was forced to make an emergency landing in a mountainous area near Taipei, just 30 minutes after take off.
The helicopter was carrying 13 people, five were rescued, including a military reporter, and taken to hospitals.
Air Force commander "Hsiung Ho-chi" told a news conference in Taipei that it was not yet clear what caused the accident.
He added, "A task force has been formed to investigate the incident."