Taiwan military chief among eight killed in helicopter crash landing
General Shen Yi-ming, the general chief of staff in Taiwan, has been killed along with several other people after a helicopter crash-landed into mountains near Taipei. A rescue mission has been launched.
Air Force General Shen Yi-ming, who was Taiwan’s chief of general staff, was killed after a helicopter carrying 13 people crash-landed into a mountain on Thursday, according to the defense ministry.
Taiwan’s official Central News Agency also confirmed General Shen’s death.
“Eight of our colleagues were killed,” a military spokesman told a news conference.
The helicopter made an emergency landing in the mountains near Taipei after taking off on a routine mission to visit soldiers in the northeast Yilan country ahead of the lunar new year.
The incident comes a week before Taiwan holds presidential and parliamentary elections on January 11.
President Tsai Ing-wen, who is seeking re-election, cancelled all campaign activities until Saturday, promising a swift rescue operation.
General Shen Yi-ming, 63, was responsible for overseeing Taiwan’s defense against China Rescue operation underway
Air force commander-in-chief Hsiung Hou-chi told a news conference in Taipei that it remains uncertain what caused the incident.
“The search and rescue operation continues… We are investigating whether (the cause) was environmental or mechanical… the aircraft’s condition is not ideal,” Hsiung told reporters.
“We hope everyone can be safe and we should know the results this afternoon,” he added.
Taiwan is a de facto sovereign nation since the end of a civil war in 1949. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has threatened the use of force to bring the country back under its control.
