Helicopter crash in South Korea claims five lives

Five people have been killed in a helicopter crash near a Buddhist temple in the eastern coastal county of Yangyang in South Korea.

The five victims included the 71-year-old pilot and a 54-year-old mechanic, who were initially believed to be the only two people on board, Yonhap News Agency reports.

Rescue workers later found three more bodies, one of a person in their 20s and that of two women at the site of the accident. Surveillance camera footage confirmed there were five people on board the chopper.

The chopper, an S-58T on lease by the local governments of Yangyang, Sokcho and Goseong, crashed on a hill around 10:50 a.m. local time while surveying the area against forest fires, officials said.

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo instructed the Korea Forest Service and the local authorities to properly handle the aftermath of the accident and do everything to assist the victims' families.