1 dead, three missing in helicopter crash
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Relatives of crewmembers aboard the ill-fated helicopter B-511 weep at the West Regional Headquarters of the Korea Coast Guard in Mokpo, South Jeolla Province, Saturday. The helicopter crashed near the waters of Sinan, South Jeolla Province, Friday night, leaving one crewmember dead and three others missing. / Yonhap
By Lee Min-hyung
A maritime police helicopter carrying four people crashed off the waters of Sinan, South Jeolla Province, Friday night, leaving one dead and three others missing.
The B-511 helicopter that belongs to the West Regional Headquarters of the Korea Coast Guard is believed to have crashed at 8:27 p.m. when it was attempting to land near a seawall on Gageo Island.
The coastguard said the helicopter was carrying its two pilots, Choi Seung-ho and Baek Dong-heum, mechanic Park Geun-soo and emergency medic Jang Yong-hoon and was on a rescue mission.
Park, 29, was found unconscious near the crash scene, but died a few hours later, according to investigators. The other three crewmembers are still missing.
A Coast Guard's patrol vessle carrying a dead body of a crewmember, mechanic Park Geun-soo, approaches a dock in Mokpo, South Jeolla Province, Saturday. / Yonhap
Authorities said they dispatched rescue helicopters and vessles to the scene, adding that they are now trying to find the exact cause of the accident.
The ill-fated helicopter was the first one to arrive at the sea near Jindo Island, South Jeolla Province, on April 16, 2014, to rescue passengers from the sinking Sewol ferry.
Investigators said the helicopter left the southern city of Mokpo toward the island on a mission to transport a patient to an inland hospotal.
Rescuers were dispatched to the crash site immediately but encountered difficulties in searching for the missing crewmembers due to harsh weather conditions.
"The Cheonghaejin, a 4,300-ton submarine rescue ship, will be dispatched at the scene at 1 p.m.," a coast guard official said in a briefing, Saturday morning.