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SKOREA-HELICOPTER-ACCIDENT LEAD
Two bodies retrieved from S. Korea helicopter crash
SEOUL, Nov 3, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – South Korean rescuers retrieved two bodies
believed to be among the seven that went missing after their chopper crashed
into the sea shortly after taking off from islets disputed with Japan,
officials said Sunday.
The helicopter had just picked up an injured fisherman from Dokdo, which
is known as Takeshima in Japan, when it went down on Thursday night.
Three bodies had been located on Saturday, including one found inside the
crashed chopper sitting upside down on the seabed at a depth of 72 metres
(240 feet).
Two of those bodies, both male, have been retrieved, the Coast Guard said
Sunday, adding that one was believed to be a fireman but it was still trying
to identify the pair.
Dozens of divers were scouring the waters, authorities said, with Navy and
Coast Guard vessels as well as helicopters and airplanes mobilised for the
search.
Seoul has controlled the islets in the Sea of Japan — or East Sea —
since 1945, when Tokyo’s brutal colonial rule on the peninsula ended, while
Japan still claims sovereignty over them.
BSS/AFP/ARS/1625 hrs