Eight dead, five rescued in UH-60M Black Hawk crash

Taipei, Jan. 2 (CNA) Five people were rescued and eight were confirmed dead aboard a military UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter that came down in New Taipei's mountainous Wulai District Thursday, according to the Ministry of National Defense (MND).

Among the eight dead was the nation's chief of the general staff, Shen Yi-ming (沈一鳴), Air Force Commander Hsiung Hou-chi (熊厚基) confirmed.

The chopper, part of the Air Force Rescue Team, took off from Songshan air force base in Taipei at 7:54 a.m. bound for a military base at Yilan's Dong'ao as part of a pre-Lunar New Year inspection.

It disappeared from radar screens at around 8:07 a.m. before making an abortive forced landing in the mountains, according to the ministry.