3 dead after medical helicopter crashes into sea off southwest Japan

Three people were killed after a medical transport helicopter crashed into the sea off southwestern Japan on Sunday, the Japan coast guard confirmed. The aircraft, commonly referred to as a "doctor helicopter" in Japan, was en route from an airport in Nagasaki Prefecture to a hospital in Fukuoka when the accident occurred.

Among those who lost their lives were medical doctor Kei Arakawa, 34; patient Mitsuki Motoishi, 86; and her caretaker Kazuyoshi Motoishi, 68. Their bodies were later retrieved from the water by a Japan Air Self-Defense Force helicopter. A physician later confirmed their deaths.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation, according to a statement from the coast guard on Monday. As part of the search and rescue effort, the coast guard dispatched three vessels and two aircraft to the crash site.

Survivors included the helicopter's pilot, Hiroshi Hamada, 66; mechanic Kazuto Yoshitake; and 28-year-old nurse Sakura Kunitake. All three were found in the ocean holding onto inflatable lifesavers and were rescued earlier in the day. They were conscious but suffering from hypothermia, with abnormally low body temperatures, according to a coast guard official who spoke anonymously due to protocol.

It was also clarified by the coast guard that Yoshitake’s first name had been initially misreported but later corrected.