An ambulance helicopter carrying a patient may have crashed off the coast of Tsushima, Nagasaki Prefecture, on Sunday, leaving three of six people on board missing, the Japan Coast Guard and others said.
The helicopter was found floating on the sea east of Tsushima, and three people on board were rescued, but the whereabouts of the other three are unknown, the coast guard and others said.
The six are a pilot, a helicopter mechanic, a doctor, a nurse and a patient caretaker in addition to the patient.
According to the Japan Coast Guard and others, the helicopter took off from Tsushima Airport at 1:30 p.m. It was scheduled to arrive at a hospital in the city of Fukuoka at 2:40 p.m., but disappeared.
A coast guard patrol boat found the helicopter capsized and floating on the sea surface shortly after 5 p.m. The three rescued people had symptoms of hypothermia and were taken to a hospital.
