Eight people are confirmed dead after a Black Hawk military helicopter crashed Thursday morning in New Taipei City. Among the dead is Chief of the General Staff Shen Yi-ming. The remaining five passengers sustained injuries but are safe.
The UH-60M Black Hawk departed from Taipei’s Songshan Airport at 7:45am, and was headed for a base in Yilan County, eastern Taiwan, for a pre-Lunar New Year inspection. The aircraft disappeared from radar at around 8am. Authorities then received a call from one of the people on board, leading them to the site of the crash in the mountains of Wulai Township.
Investigators are still looking into the cause of Thursday’s crash.
The helicopter that went down was part of the Air Force Rescue Team. The rescue team has since grounded all 14 of its Black Hawk helicopters.
Meanwhile, President Tsai Ing-wen and her running mate William Lai have cancelled all campaign activities through Saturday. Tsai’s campaign office says that Tsai also serves as Commander-in-Chief, and that delaying campaign events will enable her to stay on top of the latest developments related to the crash.