<Anchor>



Yesterday (27th), a joint government investigation began into an accident in Yangyang, Gangwon-do, in which 5 people were killed when a forest fire monitoring helicopter crashed.

The identity of the occupant is expected to be confirmed soon, but it is difficult to determine the cause of the accident.



More details, G1 Broadcasting reporter Cho Ki-hyun reports.



<Reporter>



Investigators collect debris from the crash site of the helicopter.



The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s Aviation and Railroad Accident Investigation Committee started a full-scale investigation with the participation of the police, firefighting, and local governments.



We plan to keep all possibilities open and look into whether there were aircraft or equipment defects, pilot negligence, or weather conditions.



We plan to carry out a detailed identification through an on-site investigation, but most of the body has been lost, making it difficult to investigate.



[Air Railroad Accident Investigation Committee official: We're going to (investigate) what happened to the wreckage here for 3-4 days.

But now they are all burnt up, so I'm worried if we can properly investigate.]



The police investigation is also speeding up, and the most urgent thing is to accurately identify the occupants.



Two female occupants whose identities were not revealed were identified through CCTV comparison, investigation of the person involved, and fingerprints left on the vehicle of the mechanic on board.



They are known to be the mechanic's alumni, but the police requested an emergency DNA analysis from the National Forensic Service to confirm whether they were the passengers.



Along with autopsies on the five dead, the police are also investigating how they boarded the helicopter and why they were missing from the list of passengers.



[Moon Gyeong-sik/Sokcho Police Department Investigation Manager: We plan to look into the rules that the pilots who boarded and operated the pilots must abide by, or whether these things are violated, etc. according to a certain aviation law.]



The Accident Investigation Committee and the police will investigate the overall accident and negligence. It is expected that it will take a considerable amount of time to reveal.



(Video coverage: Cho Eun-ki G1 broadcast)