Ambulance helicopter crashes into sea in southwestern Japan, killing three

Three out of six people aboard a Japanese medical transport helicopter carrying a patient died after it crashed into the sea in southwestern Japan on Sunday, according to the Japan coast guard.

The pilot, Hiroshi Hamada, 66; Katsuto Yoshitake, a helicopter mechanic and a 28-year-old nurse, Sakura Kunitake, were rescued by the coast guard after they were found in the waters clinging to inflatable lifesavers. Their body temperatures had dropped abnormally, leaving the three suffering hypothermia, an official with the coast guard told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

The bodies of medical doctor, Kei Arakawa, 34; Mitsuki Motoishi, 86, the patient, and her caretaker Kazuyoshi Motoishi, 68, were later recovered by a Japan Air Self-Defence Force helicopter.

The coast guard deployed two planes and three ships to the area as part of the rescue operation.

The six people were aboard what the Japanese call “a doctor helicopter,” on their way to a hospital in Fukuoka from an airport in Nagasaki Prefecture, when it crashed, according to the coast guard.

The cause of the accident remains unclear.