April 8

Two people were confirmed dead, and one went missing, in an accident that a helicopter crashed in waters off South Korea's southernmost island of Mara, Yonhap news agency said Friday citing the coast guard.

The coast guard helicopter, carrying four crewmen, went down in waters some 370 km southwest of the Mara Island at 1:32 a.m. local time.

Of the four, two were killed, and one was missing. After being rescued by a nearby patrol boat, the pilot was in a non-life-threatening condition.

The chopper crashed shortly after its take-off from a coast guard patrol vessel for an unidentified reason.

A total of 17 vessels, including seven coast guard patrol boats, were reportedly mobilized to search and rescue the missing crewman.

xinhua