The crash of a maritime police helicopter (S-92), which occurred 370 km southwest of Marado, Jeju Island, occurred right after the helicopter took off from the guard ship.



The Jeju Provincial Maritime Police Agency said, "It is understood that the helicopter crashed within 30 to 40 seconds immediately after takeoff.



The helicopter took off from Gimhae Airport at 9:15 pm yesterday (the 7th) with 10 people on board, including 6 members of the Central Marine Special Rescue Team and 4 helicopter operators, and refueled at Jeju Airport at 10:16 pm. We headed to Marado at 11:09 pm The helicopter landed on the patrol vessel 3012 at 0:53 this morning at 370 km southwest of Marado, and six rescuers got off the 3012.



The helicopter after the accident took off at about 1:30 am with four helicopter operators on board to refuel and return to the ship 3012, but the Coast Guard believes that it soon crashed into the sea.



At the time of the accident, it was reported that the local weather conditions were not bad, with a southeasterly wind blowing at a speed of 2 to 4 meters per second, a wave height of 1 meter, and visibility of about 5 nautical miles.



Immediately after the accident, the 3012 lowered a high-speed patrol boat and rescued 47-year-old Captain Choi Mo from the vicinity of the crash site at around 1:47 a.m., and at 2:10 a.m., Co-pilot 51-year-old Inspector Jeong Mo and 28-year-old Hwang Mo were sequentially dispatched. rescued.



The three men were transferred to ship 3012 and given first aid, but the first officer and the ex-explorer were killed.



The captain was transported to Jeju by an Air Force helicopter due to multiple fractures and bleeding, and was transferred to a hospital in Jeju City this morning for treatment.




Among the helicopter passengers, a 42-year-old police officer, a mechanic, is missing, and a search is underway to find the missing person in the area of ​​the accident.



At the same time, the search for Kyoto No. 1, for which a distress report was received yesterday, is also in progress.



All six passengers on Kyoto No. 1 are Korean nationals, and Taiwanese rescue agencies and helicopters are currently searching for the missing person.



According to the Coast Guard, the submarine support ship of the Central Marine Special Rescue Team departed for the underwater search with 31 people aboard, including 15 of the special rescue team.



(Photo = provided by the Korea Coast Guard, Yonhap News)