A helicopter carrying tourists that had gone missing near an active volcano in Japan has been located.
During a search of Mount Aso’s volcanic area in Kumamoto Prefecture, authorities initially found what seemed to be an aircraft near the first crater of Nakadake on Tuesday afternoon. Subsequently, it was confirmed that the wreckage belonged to the missing helicopter, as reported by Japanese media.
The helicopter, carrying two Taiwanese tourists and a Japanese pilot, disappeared around 11 am local time while sightseeing in the region. After hours of searching, a police helicopter spotted the missing aircraft at approximately 4:10 pm, according to Japan’s public broadcaster.
The alarm was raised when the helicopter’s operator, Takumi Air, received a distress signal from the aircraft. Shortly after, the fire department was informed that a smartphone associated with one of the passengers had detected an impact. Additionally, a security guard near the crater mentioned hearing a noise when the helicopter disappeared, as stated by the Aso Mountaintop Office.
The helicopter was supposed to land at Mount Aso at 11:10 am after departing from the tourist site Cuddly Dominion. When it did not arrive as scheduled, a rescue operation was initiated by the tour agency, which dispatched its helicopters, along with police and firefighting helicopters, to search the area. The Japan Self-Defense Forces were also involved in the aerial search, according to Kumamoto Prefecture Governor Takashi Kimura.
Despite no recent significant volcanic activity, search efforts were hindered by heavy fog, although 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 the 64-year-old Japanese pilot, as reported by Kumamoto Nichinichi Shimbun.
Mount Aso, the second-largest active volcano in Japan, is believed to have been created after massive eruptions occurred between 300,000 and 90,000 years ago. Among Aso’s five peaks, Mount Nakadake features seven craters, including an active crater known as crater one, measuring 600 meters in diameter and 130 meters deep, with a circumference of approximately 4 kilometers.
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