The wreckage of a sightseeing helicopter that disappeared near an active volcano in Japan has been located.
During a search of Mount Aso’s volcanic landscape in Kumamoto Prefecture, authorities came across what seemed to be an aircraft near the first crater of Nakadake on Tuesday afternoon. Subsequently, Japanese media confirmed that the found wreckage was indeed the missing helicopter.
The helicopter, carrying two Taiwanese tourists and a Japanese pilot, vanished around 11am local time while touring the area. A police helicopter spotted the missing craft at approximately 4.10pm after an extensive search effort.
The alarm was raised when Takumi Air, the helicopter’s operator, received a distress signal from the aircraft. Shortly after, the fire department was notified that a smartphone belonging to one of the passengers had experienced an impact, matching the device’s registered number.
A security guard near the crater reported hearing a noise at the time of the helicopter’s disappearance, according to the Aso Mountaintop Office.
The helicopter was expected to land at Mount Aso at 11.10am after departing from the tourist spot Cuddly Dominion. When it failed to arrive, a rescue operation was initiated, with helicopters from the tour agency, police, and firefighting units searching the area. The Japan Self-Defense Forces also joined the aerial search, as mentioned by Kumamoto Prefecture Governor Takashi Kimura.
Despite no recent significant volcanic activity, search efforts were hindered by heavy fog even though signals from the aircraft were detected. The passengers have been identified as a 41-year-old man and a 36-year-old woman from Taiwan, along with a 64-year-old Japanese male pilot, according to reports from Kumamoto Nichinichi Shimbun.
Mount Aso, Japan’s second-largest active volcano, is believed to have formed after four massive eruptions between approximately 300,000 and 90,000 years ago. Mount Nakadake, one of Aso’s peaks, features seven craters, including an active one known as crater one, measuring 600 meters in diameter and 130 meters deep with a circumference of about 4 kilometers.
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