FILE - Taiwanese Deputy Defense Minister Shen Yi-ming is introduced to journalists during a press conference in Taipei, Taiwan, March 7, 2019.
TAIPEI, TAIWAN - Taiwan’s top military official is missing after a helicopter made an emergency landing in northern Taiwan, the island’s defense ministry said Thursday.
The defense ministry said a rescue mission was underway for the 13 people on board the Black Hawk helicopter, which includes the Air Force General Shen Yi-ming, the island’s chief of the general staff.
Three people were still missing, including Shen, while several people were found alive, the ministry said, adding that a team has been dispatched for the rescue mission.
The crash came a week before a key election Jan. 11, when the democratic island is to hold presidential and parliamentary elections.