According to preliminary data, the helicopter crasehd into the sea shortly after take-off. Two pilots, a mechanic, a doctor, a patient and an accompanying person were on board the helicopter at the time of the accident. A search and rescue operation is underway. The cause of the incident remains unknown.
Late on Monday, the UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter left Taitung City for Orchid Island in order to provide local residents with medical aid and evacuate those in need of assistance. Communications with the helicopter were lost while the aircraft was returning to Taiwan.
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The United States had supplied Taiwan with multi-purpose Black Hawk helicopters in accordance with a 2010 contract. The Taiwanese army has handed over some of those choppers to the Interior Ministry.